water are speedily undermined, and the loess breaks off in vertical sheets, which fall into the river and are carried down by the stream. In this way have been deposited the sediments which to a great extent constitute the great plain, and render the Gulf of Pih-chih-li and the Yellow Sea so shallow. From an economical point of view the loess is invaluable to the natives of the north of China. In its perpendicular cliffs which are removed from the action of running water are dug out innumerable caves, in which a large majority of the people inhabiting the loess region dwell, while its surface yields abundant crops, requir ing no application of manure and but slight expendi ture of labour in preparation. Wherever it is found, therefore, whether on the plain or at an elevation of 7000 or 8000 feet, it is available for agricultural purposes. The Chinese call it Hwang-too, or "Yellow Earth," and it has been suggested that the imperial title Hwang-te, "Yellow Emperor," or "Ruler of the Yellow," has had its origin in the fact that the emperor was lord of the
loess or the "Yellow Earth."
Provinces.—China Proper is divided into nineteen provinces, Chih-li, Shan-tung, Shan-se, Ho-nan, Keang-soo, Gan-hwuy, Keang-se, Che-keang, Fuh-keen, Hoo-pih, Hoo-nan, Shen-se, Kan-suh, Sze-chuen, Kwang-tung, Kwang-se, Kwei-chow, Yun-nan, and Shing-king in Manchuria.
The metropolitan province of Chih-li, in which is situ ated Peking, the capital of the empire (see PEKING), con tains eleven prefectural cities, and occupies an area of 58,949 square miles. By the latest census reports the population was returned as 27,000,000. This province forms part of the great delta plain spoken of above, with the exception of the mountain ranges which define its northern and western frontier. It is bounded on the E. by the Gulf of Pih-chih-li and Shan-tung, and on the S. by Shan-tuny and Ho-nan. The proportion of Maho metans among the population is very large. In Peking there are said to be as many as 20,000 Mahometan families, and in Paou-ting Foo, the capital of the province, there are about 1000 followers of the Prophet. The extremes of heat and cold in Chih-li are very marked, as a glance at the accompanying table of the temperature at Tien-tsin daring the year 1861, as chronicled by Dr Lamprey s self- registering thermometer, will show.
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1861. Thermometer (Fahr.) 18G1. Thermometer (Fahr.) Maximum. Minimum. Maximum. Minimum. January February ... March April. o 38 46 68 87 94 107 8 1-5 18 35 41 53 July... 108 100 92 77 42 50 o 61 60-5 40 40 17-5 3 August September . October November. . December.. May June
During the months of December, January, and February the rivers are frozen up, and even the Gulf of Pih-chih-li is fringed with a broad border of ice. There are four rivers of some importance in the province, namely, the Peiho, which has been described above ; the Wdn-ho, which rises in the mountains in Mongolia, and flowing to the west of Peking, forms a junction with the Peiho at Tien-tsin ; the Shang-se-ho, which rises in the mountains on the north of the province of Shan-se, and takes a south-easterly course as far as the neighbourhood of Ki Chow, from which point it trends north-east, and eventually joins the Wdn-ho some 15 miles above Tien-tsin; the Poo-to-ho, which rises in Shan-se, and after running a parallel course to the Shang- se-ho on the south, empties itself in the same way into the Wdn-ho ; and the Lan-Jio, which rises in Mongolia, enters the province on the north-east after passing to the west of Jehol, passes the city of Yung-ping Foo in its course (which is south-easterly) through Chih-li, and from thence winds its way to its mouth at the north-eastern bound ary of the Gulf of Pih-chih-li. The province contain* three lakes of considerable size. The largest is the Ta-loo-tsze Hoo, which lies in 37 40 lat. and 115 20 E. long.; the second in importance is one which is situated to the E. of Paou-ting Foo ; and the third is the Too-loo-tsze Hoo, which lies E. by N. of Shun-tih Foo. Four high roads radiate from Peking : one leading to Urga by way of Seuen-hwa Foo, which passes through the Great Wall at Chang-kea Kow ; another, which enters Mongolia through the Koo^pei Kow to the north-east, and after continuing that course as far as Fung-ning turns in a north-westerly direction to Dolanor ; a third striking due east by way of Tung-chow and Yung- ping Foo to Shan-hai Kwan, the point where the great wall terminates on the coast ; and a fourth which trends in a south-westerly direction to Paou-ting Foo and on to Tai- yuen Foo in Shan-se. The mountain ranges to the north of the province abound with coal, notably at Chai-tang, Tai-gan-shan, Miaou-gan-ling, and Foo-taou in the Se- shan or Western Hills. "At Chai-tang," Baron von Richthofen says, " I was surprised to walk over a regular succession of coal-bearing strata, the thkkness of which, estimating it step by step as I proceeded gradually from the lowest to the highest strata, exceeds 7000 feet." The coal here is anthracite, as is also that at Tai-gan-shan, where are found beds of greater value than any in the neighbourhood of Peking. In Seuen-hwa Foo coal is also found, but not in such quantities as in the places above named. Iron and silver also exist in small quantities in different parts of the province, and hot and warm springs are very common at the foot of the hills along the northern and western edges of the province. The principal agricul tural products are wheat, kaou-leang, oats, millet, maize, pulse, and potatoes. Fruits and vegetables are also grown in large quantities. Of the former the chief kinds are pears, apples, plums, apricots, peaches, parsimmons, and melons. Tien-tsin is the Treaty Port of the province, and by the Consular Trade Report for 1874 we find that the total value of the merchandize exported from that city during the year amounted to 1,144,893 taels, and that of the goods imported to 17,682,684 taels. The articles which figure most conspicuously in the lists of exports are dates, dried lily flowers, wool, tobacco, and rhubarb ; and the most valuable of the imports are shirtings, drills, T-cloths, jeans and twills, opium, woollens, steel, lead, needles, Japanese seaweeds, and sugar.
is bounded on the N. by the province of Chih-li and the Gulf of Pih-chih-li, on the E. by the Yellow Sea, on the S. by Keang-soo and the Yellow Sea, and on the W. by Chih-li. It contains an area of 65,104 square miles, and the population is estimated to be 30,000,000. It is divided into ten prefectures, with as many prefectural cities, of which Tse-nan Foo, the provincial capital, is the chief. The physical features of the province are very plainly marked. The centre and eastern portions are occupied by a series of mountain ranges running north-east and south west, between which lie fertile valleys, while the north western, southern, and western portions form part of the great delta plain of the north of China. The most con siderable range of mountains is that which lies to the north of the city of Tai-gan Foo, of which the highest peak is the Tai-shan, a mountain which has been famous in Chinese history for more than 4000 years, and to which at the present day hundreds of pilgrims annually resort. Another important range is the Laou-shan, which fringes the south-eastern coast for about 18 miles. With the
exception of the Yellow River, which in its new course