Index:A Residence Among the Chinese.djvu
| CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III. Tea-gatherers and their wages — Food of Chinese labourers compared with the food of the same class in England — Old city of Tse-kee — Streets and shops — Market — Mode of skinning frogs- — Temple on hill and fine scenery — Lake near north gate — Temples and priests — My servant's mode of answering ques- tions — Chesnut-trees discovered — Introduced to India — Chi- nese tombs and ceremonies — A widow comes to worship — Beggars and coffins — Different customs in different countries — Reflections Page 41 CHAPTER IV. Entomology — Chinese ideas respecting my collections — My sanity doubtful — Mode of employing natives to assist me — A scene on returning to my boat — Curious tree — Visit from a mandarin — An endeavour to explain my objects in making collections of natural history — Crowds of natives — Their quietness and civility — Return mandarin's visit — My reception — Example of Chinese politeness — Our conversation — Inquisitiveness of his ladies and its consequences — Beauty of ladies at Tse-kee — Our luncheon and adieu 59 CHAPTER V. Visit a collector of ancient works of art — His house and garden — Inspect his collections of old crackle china and other vases, &c. — Fondness of Chinese for their own ancient works of art — Description of ancient porcelain most prized by them — Ancient enamels — Foo-chow enamels — Jade-stone — Rock crystal — Magnetic iron and other minerals — Gold-stone — Red lacquer and gold japan — Porcelain bottles found in Egyptian tombs — Found also in China at the present day — Age of these — Mr. Medhurst's remarks 78 CHAPTER VI. Boat-travelling — Unsettled state of the country — A midnight alarm — Old quarters at Tein-tung — A good Buddhist priest — Chinese farmers — Their wives and families — Chinese women's passion, and its effects — Woman's curse — The author is seized with fever — A native doctor and his mode of treatment — Method of taking honey from bees — Mosquito tobacco — Its composition and manufacture 93 CHAPTER VII. Difficulty in procuring black-tea manufacturers — Return to Shanghae — Chief magistrate murdered — Strange prejudices of foreign residents — Their professions of neutrality — Chinese warfare — Dr. Lockhart's hospital and patients — Value of medical missions — Public opinion changes — Shanghae evacuated by the rebels — Entered by thevImperialists — Cruelty of soldiers — Effects of the rebellion on the face of the country Page 116 CHAPTER VIII. Keturn to the tea-districts of Chekiang — Mode of making collections of seeds amongst Chinese peasantry — Messengers sent to Moo-yuen and Ping-shuy — Ping-shuy teas — Agricultural and Horti- cultural Society of India — Varnish-tree — Wax-insect tree — Soap-tree — Death and funeral of a Buddhist priest — New blue dye — Its cultivation and manufacture — "Green indigo" — Its introduction to India and Europe 142 CHAPTER IX. Journey to the Snowy Valley and waterfalls — Kong-k'how pagoda — Adventure with a blind man — Elaborate carving — A new acquaintance, Mr. Achang — Iron-ore — Mountain stream — Its rafts and cormorants — The temple of the Snowy Valley — Description of the falls — Our dinner and guests — How Mr. Achang enjoys it — His lecture on medical botany and lucky spots for graves — A Buddhist recluse — Continue our journey across the mountains — Natural productions — Fine variety of bamboo — Its introduction to India — Romantic glen — Arrive at our boats and bid adieu to Mr. 4 chang 171 CHAPTER X. Collections shipped for India — Success attending this year's importations — Visit Canton — Method of scenting teas described- — Flowers used in the operation — Their scientific and Chinese names — Their relative value — Prices paid for them — Manufacture of " caper " described — Inferior ditto — " Lie capers " — Orange pekoe — High character of foreign merchants in China — Howqua's garden described — Its plants, ornamental doors, and alcoves, &c, — Polite notices to visitors worthy of imitation Page 195 CHAPTER XI. Visit the port of Foo-chow-foo — Its foreign trade — The advantages and disadvantages of the port — Steamer "Confucius" — Sail for Formosa — An amateur watch kept — Sea-sickness of mandarins — Appearance of Formosa from sea — Land on the island — Eice-paper plant — The natives — Productions of the island — Suggestions to the navy in these seas — Sail for Shanghae — Spring and spring flowers 219 CHAPTER XII. Return to Chekiang — A journey to the interior — Chinese country fair — Small feet of women — How formed, and the results — Stalls at the fair — Ancient porcelain seal same as found in the bogs of Ireland — Theatricals — Chinese actors — Natural productions of the country — Lihaceous medicinal plant — " Cold water temple" — Start for Tsan-tsin — Mountain scenery and productions — Astonishment of the people — A little boy's opinion of my habits 245 CHAPTER XIII. A dinner audience — Adventure with a priest — Sanatarium for Ningpo missionaries and others — Abies Ksempferi — Journey to Quan-ting — Bamboo woods and their value — Magnificent scenery — Natives of Poo-in-chee — Golden bell at Quan-ting — Chinese traditions — Cold of the mountains — Journey with Mr. Wang — A disappointment — Adventure with pirates — Strange but satisfactory signal — Results 268 CHAPTER XIV. Season's collections shipped for India — Ancient porcelain vase — Chinese dealers — Joined by two friends — Inland journey — City of Yu-yaou — Fine rice district — Appearance and conduct of natives — Laughable occurrence with an avaricious boatman — Soil and rocks of district — Village of Ne-ka-loo and Chinese inn — Shores of the bay of Hang-chow — Salt and its manufacture — Curious moonlight journey — Eapid tides — Passage junk — Voyage across the bay — Chinese sailors — Arrive at Kan-poo | Page 294 CHAPTER XV. The Tsien-tang river — Its eagre or "bore" — Appearance it presents — Effects it produces — Superstitions of the natives — City of Kan-poo — Mentioned by Marco Polo — Its decay as a maritime port — Another source of wealth — Its inhabitants — Village of Luh-le-heen — Engage canal boats — Pass through borders of silk country — City of Yuen-hwa — Supposed emporium for "Yuen-fa" silk — Geology of isolated hills — City of Ping-hoo — Way to manage Chinese crowds — Shops and gardens — A dangerous position — Arrive at Shanghae | 316 CHAPTER XVI. Leave Shanghae for the silk country — Melancholy results of the Shanghae rebellion — Country and productions about Cading — Indigo and safflower — Bamboo paper-making — Insects — Lakes and marshy country — Visit the town of Nan-tsin in the silk districts — Its shops and inhabitants — Producers of raw silk and silk merchants — Description of silk country — Soil — Method of cultivating the mulberry — Valuable varieties — Increased by grafting and not by seeds — Method of gathering the leaves — Hills near Hoo-chow-foo — Temples and priests | 331 CHAPTER XVIL Enter the city of Hoo-chow-foo — Chinese crowds — Description of the city — Richness of the shops — Fans and silks — Rich dresses of the people — Raw silk and hongs — Flowered crapes- — Chinese play and audience — How I perform my part ! — Leave the city — Charming scenes in the country — Thrown silk — Silk villages and their inhabitants — Temple of Wan- shew-si and its priests — Taou-chang-shan pagoda — Glorious views from the pagoda hill | Page 350 CHAPTER XVIII. Ascend the Lun-ke river — A musical Buddhist high priest — Hoo-shan monastery — Its silk-worms — Mode of feeding them — General treatment — Their aversion to noise and bright light — The country embanked in all directions — A farmer's explanation of this — Town of Mei-che — Silk-worms begin to spin — Method of putting them on straw — Artificial heat employed — Reeling process — Machine described — Work-people — Silk scenes in a monastery — Industrious Buddhist priests — Novel mode of catching fish — End of silk season — Price of raw silk where it is produced | 365 CHAPTER XIX. Leave the silk country — Adventure at Nanziang — A visit from thieves — I am robbed of everything — Unsuccessful efforts to trace the robbers — Astonished by another visit from them — Its objects — My clothes and papers returned — Their motives for this — A visit to the Nanziang mandarin — Means taken to catch the robbers — Two are caught and bambooed — My visit to the mandarin returned — Arrive at Shanghae — Report the robbery to Her Majesty's Consul — A portion of the money recovered — The remainder supposed to be kept by the mandarins | 379 CHAPTER XX. Tea-makers from Fokien and Kiangse engaged for India — Ning-chow tea country — Formerly produced green teas — Now produces black — How this change took place — Difficulty in getting the men off — One of them arrested for debt — All on board at last and sent on to Calcutta — Coast infested with pirates — Ningpo missionaries robbed — Politeness of the pirates — Their rendezvous discovered — Attacked and destroyed by the 'Bittern' — A mandarin in difficulty — The English "don't fight fair" — Liberality of the Chinese and English merchants — Captain Vansittart's reward Page 392 CHAPTER XXL Return to the interior — Curious superstition — Adventures with a priest — Journey in search of new trees — Mountain scenery — New Rhododendron — Valley of the Nine Stones — Fine trees — Yew and golden pine — Curiosity of the natives — A dark and stormy night — We lose ourselves amongst the mountains — Seek shelter in a hut — Alarm of the inmates — Morning after the storm — Return to Ningpo — A fine new plant discovered — Adieu to the north of China — Engage scented-tea makers, &c., at Canton — Sail for India — Complimentary letter from Lord Dalhousie — Ordered to visit the tea-plantations in the Himalayas and Punjab — Return to England 405 CHAPTER XXII. ON THE PRESENT WAR. Dispute with the Chinese about the lorcha "Arrow" — Lorchas and their crews — Abuse of the English flag — Right of entrance into the city of Canton — The Chinese outwit us in diplomacy — True causes of our position in Canton — We have ourselves to blame — The policy which ought to be pursued — The city of Canton must be opened — Foolish restrictions on foreigners and their trade ought to be abolished — Direct communication with the court of Peking — Method of carrying out these views — Remarks on the climate with reference to the health of our troops — Conclusion | 423 |
