THE YELLOW-SEA PROVINCE.
All the eight circuits into which Chō-sen is divided are maritime provinces, but this is the only one which takes its name from the body of water on which its borders lie, jutting out into the Whang-hai, or Yellow Sea, its extreme point lies nearest to Shantung promontory in China. Its coast line exceeds its land frontiers. In the period anterior to the Christian era, Whang-hai, was occupied by the tribes called the Mahan, and from the second to the sixth century, by the kingdom of Hiaksai. It has been the camping-ground of the armies of many nations. Here, besides the border forays which engaged the troops of the rival kingdoms, the Japanese, Chinese, Mongols, and Manchius, have contended [[184]]for victory again and again. The ravages of war, added to a somewhat sterile soil, are the causes of Whang-hai being the least populated province of the eight in the peninsula. From very ancient times the Corean peninsula has been renowned for its pearls. These are of superior lustre and great size. Even before the Christian era, when the people lived in caves and mud huts, and before they had horses or cattle, the barbaric inhabitants of this region wore necklaces of pearls, and sewed them on their clothing, row upon row. They amazed the invading hordes of the Han dynasty, with such incongruous mixture of wealth and savagery; as the Indians, careless of the yellow dust, surprised by their indifference to it the gold-greedy warriors of Balboa. Later on, the size and brilliancy of Corean pearls became famous all over China. They were largely exported. The Chinese merchant braved the perils of the sea, and of life among the rude Coreans, to win lustrous gems of great price, which he bartered when at home for sums which made him quickly rich. In the twelfth century the fame of these “Eastern pearls,” as they were then called, and which outrivalled even those from the Tonquin fisheries, became the cause of an attempted conquest of the peninsula, the visions of wealth acting as a lure to the would-be invaders. It may even be that the Corean pearl fisheries were known by fame to the story-tellers of the “Arabian Nights Entertainments.” Much of the mystic philosophy of China concerning pearls is held also by the Coreans. The Corean Elysium is a lake of pearls. In burying the dead, those who can afford it, fill the mouth of the corpse with three pearls, which, if large, will, it is believed, preserve the dead body from decay. This emblem of three flashing pearls, is much in vogue in native art The gems are found on the banks lying off the coast of this province, as well as in the archipelago to the south, and at Quelpart. The industry is, at present, utterly neglected. The pearls are kept, but no use seems to be made of the brilliant nacre of the mussel-shells, which are exported to Japan, to be used in inlaying.
Map of the Yellow-sea Province.
More valuable to the modern people than the now almost abandoned pearl mussel-beds, are the herring fisheries, which, during the season, attract fleets of junks and thousands of fishermen from the northern coast provinces of China. Opposite, at a distance of about eighty miles as the crow flies, measuring from land’s end to land’s end, is the populous province of Shantung, or “Country east of the mountains.” On the edge of this promontory are the [[185]]cities of Chifu and Teng Chow, while further to the east is Tientsin, the seaport of Peking. From the most ancient times, Chinese armadas have sailed, and invading armies have embarked for Corea from these ports. Over and over again has the river Tatong been crowded with fleets of junks, fluttering the dragon-banners at their peaks. From the Shantung headlands, also, Chinese pirates have sailed over to the tempting coasts and green islands of Corea, to ravage, burn, and kill. To guard against these invaders, and to notify the arrival of foreigners, signal fires are lighted on the hill-tops, which form a cordon of flame and speed the alarm from coast to capital in a few hours. These pyrographs or fire signals are called “Pong-wa.” At Mok-mie′ san, a mountain south of the capital, the fire-messages of the three southern provinces are received. By day, instead of the pillars of fire, are clouds of smoke, made by heaping wet chopped straw or rice-husks on the blaze. Instantly a dense white column rises in the air, which, to the sentinels from peak to peak, is eloquent of danger. In more peaceful times, Corean timber has been largely exported to Chifu, and tribute-bearing ships have sailed over to Tientsin. The Chinese fishermen usually appear off the coast of this province in the third month, or April, remaining until June, when their white sails, bent homeward, sink from the gaze of the vigilant sentinels [[186]]on the hills, who watch continually lest the Chinese set foot on shore. This they are forbidden to do on pain of death. In spite of the vigilance of the soldiers, however, a great deal of smuggling is done at night, between the Coreans and Chinese boatmen, at this time, and the French missionaries have repeatedly passed the barriers of this forbidden land by disembarking from Chifu junks off this coast. The island of Merin (Merin-to) has, on several occasions, been trodden by the feet of priests who afterward became martyrs. At one time, in June, 1865, four Frenchmen entered “the lion’s den” from this rendezvous. There is a great bank of sand and many islands off the coast, the most important of the latter being the Sir James Hall group, which was visited, in 1816, by Captains Maxwell and Hall, in the ships Lyra and Alceste. These forest-clad and well-cultivated islands were named after the president of the Edinburgh Geographical Society, the father of the gallant sailor and lively author who drove the first British keel through the unknown waters of the Yellow Sea. Eastward from this island cluster is a large bay and inlet near the head of which is the fortified city of Chan-yon.
In January, 1867, Commander R. W. Shufeldt, in the U. S. S. Wachusett, visited this inlet to obtain redress for the murder of the crew of the American schooner General Sherman, and while vainly waiting, surveyed portions of it, giving the name of Wachusett Bay to the place of anchorage. Judging from native maps, the scale of the chart made from this survey was on too large a scale, though the recent map-makers of Tōkiō have followed it. The southern coast also is dotted with groups of islands, and made dangerous by large shoals. One of the approaches to the national capital and the commercial city of Sunto, or Kai-seng, is navigable for junks, through a tortuous channel which threads the vast sand-banks formed by the Han River. Hai-chiu, the capital, is near the southern central coast, and Whang-chiu, an old baronial walled city, is in the north, on the Ta-tong River, now, as of old, a famous boundary line.
Though Whang-hai is not reckoned rich, being only the sixth in order of the eight circuits, yet there are several products of importance. Rock, or fossil salt, is plentiful. Flints for fire-arms and household use were obtained here chiefly, though the best gun-flints came from China. Lucifer matches and percussion rifles have destroyed, or will soon destroy, this ancient industry. One district produces excellent ginseng, which finds a ready sale, [[187]]and even from ancient times Whang-hai’s pears have been celebrated. Splendid yellow varnish, almost equal to gilding, is also made here. The native varnishers are expert and tasteful in its use, though far behind the inimitable Japanese. Fine brushes for pens, made of the hair of wolves’ tails, are also in repute among students and merchants.
The high road from the capital, after passing through Sunto, winds through the eastern central part, and crosses a range of mountains, the scenery from which is exceedingly fine. Smaller roads thread the border of the province and the larger towns, but a great portion of Whang-hai along its central length, from east to west, seems to be mountainous, and by no means densely populated. There are, in all, twenty-eight cities with magistrates.
Whang-hai was never reckoned by the missionaries as among their most promising fields, yet on their map we count fifteen or more signs of the cross, betokening the presence of their converts, and its soil, like that of the other provinces, has more than once been reddened by the blood of men who preferred to die for their convictions, rather than live the worthless life of the pagan renegade. Most of the victims suffered at Hai-chiu, the capital, though Whang-chiu, in the north, shares the same sinister fame in a lesser degree. The people of Whang-hai are said, by the Seoul folks, to be narrow, stupid, and dull. They bear an ill name for avarice, bad faith, and a love of lying quite unusual even among Coreans. The official enumeration of houses and men fit for military duty, is 103,200 of the former and 87,170 of the latter.