China: Its History, Arts, and Literature/Volume 2/Chapter 5

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China: Its History, Arts, and Literature, Volume II (1902)
by Captain F. Brinkley

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4667865China: Its History, Arts, and Literature, Volume II1902Captain F. Brinkley

An Old Paved Mountain Pass Intended for Foot Passengers Only.

by such vetoes. An expedition was led by Mr. Medhurst in 1835 and another by Mr. Gutzlaff in 1837, and from the accounts published by these two propagandists, accurate information may be obtained concerning the disposition of the Chinese people towards foreigners in districts remote from Canton. It is unnecessary to follow the travellers through all their wanderings. A few very brief references will suffice. Mr. Medhurst sums up the results of his expedition in these words: "Thus we have gone through various parts of four provinces and many villages, giving away about eighteen thousand volumes, of which six thousand were portions of the Scriptures, among a cheerful and willing people without meeting with the least aggression or injury; having been always received by the people with a cheerful smile, and most generally by the officers with politeness and respect." They were not greeted with cries of "barbarian" or "foreign devil," nor did they observe anywhere the least inclination to molest them. Very seldom did the local officials seek to restrict their movements. One example of such interference may be cited. Having been invited to a meeting with a civil and a military officer, Mr. Medhurst and his companion were informed by the latter that "the orders from the Court were to treat foreigners with kindness and liberality, wherever and whenever they came, but by no means to allow them to stay and propagate their opinions. In conformity with this order they had provided a liberal present for us"—ten pigs, ten sheep, some bags of flour, two of peas and two of millet, with a number of ducks and fowls—"with which he hoped we would be content to depart, and by no means touch on any other part of the coast, for if we did, he was not sure that we should be treated so well elsewhere. They had now shown us every mark of politeness and hoped we would be equally polite in return by getting immediately under weigh and by touching nowhere else in the province of Shantung, all of which was under their jurisdiction." It does not appear to have occurred to Mr. Medhurst that, although a minister of the gospel and therefore specially required to respect lawfully constituted authority and to promote the preservation of peace and good order, he was under any obligation to observe the injunctions of these courteous officials. He therefore prosecuted his journey just as though no such encounter had taken place, calling wherever he pleased along the coast and wandering at will through the country. And as to the nature of his conduct, when dealing with local officials a few days later, the following extract deserves to be quoted:—

The day following we went on shore at Tsing-hai and were met on our way by a mandarin in a boat who beckoned us to come to him, but disregarding his signs, we pulled towards the land. A number of people were assembled on the beach who received us in a friendly manner, and as soon as we had ascended the cliff, the mandarin from the boat approached us. His natural cheerfulness overcame his first alarm, and he asked us in a very civil way who we were and whence we came. We told him that we came from the west to distribute good books for the instruction of the age, and with his leave would give him one. He took the book and said our object was good, but hoped that in prosecuting it we would make no disturbance. We assured him that we should not, but on the contrary endeavour to keep the peace. We then gave out books to the bystanders, who received them with eagerness, but at the same time with quietness.... The mandarin then said that we were guests and should be treated with respect, for which reason he proposed that we should repair to a temple hard by, where the officers would assemble and treat us with tea. Upon this we all proceeded thither, dealing out our stores as we went along. But finding a path that led directly to the town, we left the temple on the left and made towards the dwellings of the inhabitants. This the mandarin strongly opposed, saying it would lead to trouble: but heedless of his remonstrances we pushed forward. Arrived at the gate of the town, he again attempted to dissuade us from our purpose, without success; so that after having passed through one street and finding us not to be wrought upon by his suggestions, in order to save his dignity in the eyes of the people, he left us and went away.

In how many countries of the world would strangers have been thus allowed to openly disobey the laws of the land and flout the exercise of official authority, and in how many countries would they have been treated with courtesy and forbearance under such circumstances? Mr. Medhurst was able to write: "On quitting Shantung it may be proper to observe that we have nowhere been roughly used or ill-treated, while the natives have been uniformly found harmless and peaceable," but it is certainly remarkable that a man of such eminent piety and benevolence did not appreciate the provocative influence of his own methods. Mr. Gutzlaff penetrated farther into the interior in 1837. He too found everywhere a cheerful, polite reception, and the mandarins left him severely alone. His verdict was: "The farther from the coast, the more the moral condition of the people appears to improve, and the greater the interest they take in our books."

Every reader must be at once struck by the fact that while the people in and about Canton were calling foreigners "devils" and stoning or bambooing them whenever opportunity offered, the people in other districts treated them with courtesy, geniality, respect, and even friendship. How is the difference to be explained? Can there be any doubt about the explanation? Precisely the same experience has had to be recorded in Japan. At the open ports and in their vicinity children frequently address opprobrious epithets to foreigners, and persons of the lower orders occasionally display towards them a mien rude if not truculent, whereas in the interior of the country the stranger can count with absolute certainty on a smiling welcome and the most graceful courtesy. Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 2.djvu/259 Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 2.djvu/260 Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 2.djvu/261

Note 20.—Literally, "knocking the head." The salute before the Throne required three kneelings and nine knockings of the head.

Note 21.—This old story makes a striking preface to the Berlin incident of 1901, when the Kaiser sought to insist that the Chinese Ambassador of apology should "kowtow" before him. The Chinaman declined.

Note 22.—"Different" or "strange" is the exact significance of this ideograph which has roused so much wrath and produced so much misunderstanding. It has scarcely a profounder meaning than the English word "foreign," and is certainly not more offensive than "alien."

Note 23.—A corruption of the Portuguese boca tigre, which is a translation of the Chinese name ("Tiger's Gate"). The same place is often spoken of as the "Bogue."

Note 24.—Sir John Davis, "The Chinese."

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