Once a Week (magazine)/Series 1/Volume 5/Tartars and Taepings
TARTARS AND TAEPINGS.
A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF THE RECENT EXPEDITION UP THE YANGTZE KIANG.
The recent expedition up the great river of China, undertaken for mercantile as well as for political objects, promises to be fruitful of great results. We have received from an officer of that expedition the following narrative, which contains information that we think will be new as well as interesting to our readers. On the controversy now going on in this country, respecting the character and conduct of the insurgents, this record will be found to give information all the more trustworthy, as the author writes only of what he saw, and has evidently no foregone conclusion to support. It is only necessary to add, in order to understand some of the allusions, that the writer was also with Lord Elgin’s expedition up the river two years ago.
“We left Woosung the 12th of February—we, on board the Cowper, going on first as pilot, followed by the Coromandel (with the admiral on board, and bearing his flag), the Centaur, the Atalanta, and the Waterman, and the gun-boats—the Bouncer, Havoc, and Banterer—following behind. The river at this the starting point was about the most dangerous part of the whole trip, being about ten miles broad, and the banks so low that there are no marks to steer by. The breadth of the river makes the stream very shallow—strewed with sand-banks and shoals—which we found out to our cost, for we had not gone on many hours before the Centaur, our largest ship, got fast aground; and after spending the rest of that day, and all the next in vain attempts to get her off, we left her till she should float at the next spring-tides, while we proceeded on to Nankin. So, on the morning of the 15th, we made a fresh start; but, one after another of the vessels got aground (coming off again easily however), so that our progress was slow indeed; and the very next day we, though the pilot-boat, got completely jammed on a bank, and, to make matters worse, it was at the height of the flood, and there we stuck for eight days, as we also had to wait for the spring-tides. The admiral, in the mean time, proceeded to Nankin to make arrangements for the Centaur stopping there, while we in the Cowper enjoyed ourselves as we best could, going on shore, shooting, walking, and boating. The country was a dead flat, and fearfully muddy; but thickly studded with villages and comfortable-looking farm-houses, built entirely of mud from the river. The soil was highly cultivated—not a spot of waste to be seen—and the people seemed happy and contented. They had their troubles, however, for the rebels were, or had been, expected, and a very small attempt at defence was made in the shape of a line of fortification along the bank of the river, which looked very well at a distance, but, on examination, would not stand a kick, being nothing more than turf loosely piled up. The mouths of several creeks were staked so that junks could neither go up nor down; and here and there we found a small military fort consisting usually of twenty men, but wretchedly armed and apparently fit for nothing else than to run away. The people were very civil, and stood and looked at us without fear.
“On the 23rd, the Coromandel joined us with the rest of the fleet; the Centaur having also got off, and accompanied by the Snake, which left Woosung after us, and by good-luck or good management we got off the next day (the 24th). The admiral had been to Nankin, and made all necessary arrangements for the passage of the squadron, and the stopping there of the Centaur. Captain Ward of the Actæon (who accompanied the expedition), had been some distance up the grand canal, which he describes as in a most ruinous condition, and likely it is to remain so; for the one end of it is close to Nankin, the stronghold of the rebels, while the other rests in the capital of the emperor, so that this grand undertaking, going direct from Pekin to Nankin, or rather to the Yangtze, which river runs for more than a thousand miles into the very heart of the country, is rendered through these troubles completely useless, and falling gradually into decay,—a fit emblem of Chinese government.
“On the 24th, as I said, which was a Sunday, we got off, after which we lay quietly at our anchors, for Admiral Hope permits nothing to be done on that day which can be left alone; and the mercantile gentlemen of the party had the mortification of seeing an American merchant steamer—the Yangtze—pass us on her voyage up the river. She belongs to the great house of Dent & Co., who, I suppose, sent her up to get all the news in anticipation of our return, and, at the same time, do a stroke of trade in opium; but as she did not stop or communicate with us in any way, we could only guess at her objects. The next day we spent adjusting the general stock of coals, preparatory to sending the Wanderer back to Shanghai, as she was found to be only a drag on the rest of the squadron, on account of her slow speed. Next morning we made a fresh start, proceeding through a flat alluvial country, every foot of which is cultivated. The second day the appearance of the land rather improved, the country was more hilly and the river narrower, so that we could plainly see the peasantry at their daily labours. In the afternoon we passed Silver Island—a striking object, being a precipitous rock in the middle of the stream, covered to the summit with trees. It did not, however, present the same beautiful appearance as when I saw it two years ago, as the trees were now bare of their leaves. The country here is quite hilly, full of large villages, and no end of fortifications. Just above the island is Chin-Kiang, situated between two high hills, and surrounded with a wall. On one of the hills we saw the flag of our Consul, which had just been hoisted. This is the place where it is intended that all trading vessels shall show their papers and pay the Customs’ dues. The town is little better than a ruin, having been destroyed several times by the rebels, and as often given up. As they retire the Imperialists take possession, and the town begins to recover a little, on which the rebels again attack, for the sake of the plunder. Its chief importance was derived from the grand canal, which comes out upon the river just opposite the town, but which, as I said before, is now useless. Here we found at anchor a portion of the Imperial fleet gaily dressed with flags. Besides the junks, there was what had once been a little coasting-schooner, but now turned into a Chinese man-of-war, and mounting twenty-one guns.
“After leaving Chin-Kiang the country again becomes a dead level, the river broadens, and nothing is to be seen but the tops of high mountains far inland, the ranges running parallel with the course of the river. As we neared Nankin, which we reached the next day (the 28th), the country again became hilly; one of the hills is enclosed within the walls of the city, and is used as a look-out. The city itself lies about three miles back from the river, so that it is impossible for ships—at least, with the range of guns we carry—to bombard it. The river is besides pretty strongly fortified with gun-batteries and other earthworks, which we had good opportunities of viewing when a party of us went ashore. Our object, indeed, was to get into the city; but we found that we must first get a pass, which took up so much time that we had to give up the visit for that day, and we spent our time in rambling about the neighbourhood. Having got inside a rude kind of a wall which surrounds the river fortifications, we found ourselves in what had, at one time, been the suburbs, but now were in a shocking state of dilapidation, having been all knocked down and only partially and temporarily built up again. We hunted up one of the head men of the place, and at last came across a rather dirty gentleman, dressed in a long yellow robe, with a head-dress composed of tinselled paper, with a dragon stuck on each side of a piece of looking-glass, and behind the looking-glass was a tiger standing tail on end, the whole set off with a few beads, and in shape something like a bishop’s mitre, though a more trumpery affair could not be seen in a penny gaff in Lambeth. This “swell” took us to his house, treating us to tea, and, after a long conversation with the interpreter, we obtained a pass for ten for the following day. We then got clear of the suburbs, and on to the hills, where we had a view of the lines that the Imperial army threw up while besieging the city a year or two ago. At that time they nearly took the place, as they completely invested the city and the people were starving. But the rebels communicated with their friends outside, who collected a great force, and, at a given signal, the Imperialists were attacked, front and rear, and driven off with great slaughter. I should tell you that the length of their investing wall measures twenty-five miles, so that you may have some idea of the labour the Imperialists had in besieging the city; it runs over hills and through valleys, and is flanked at the distance of every half-mile or so with earthworks, ditches, pitfalls, &c. &c.
“The next day a large party went through the city, accompanied by Mr. Muirhead, a missionary, who has a high character out here. I was unfortunately detained on board by business, but I heard the news from the others, particularly the religious professions of the rebels, the principal of which seems to be that there is one chief ruling Spirit in Heaven and another on earth. The earthly one is no less a personage than the present ruler of the rebels, Chin-Wang, who lives in a kind of sacred state at Nankin, being seen by no men, but entirely surrounded and waited on by women, of whom he is said to have at least 500 in his seraglio. It seems to be the rule in these wars that the young women and girls are spared, and the boys are taken to be trained as soldiers, while all the men, the old and ugly women, and the young children are butchered without mercy. This same Chin-Wang was at one time a pupil in a school at Hong Kong under a Mr. Roberts, who, hearing of the position his old pupil had attained to, paid him a visit, and was well received. In fact, Roberts has been here now several years, only Chin-Wang told him that now he must be his pupil, learn his doctrines, and then go and teach them to his brethren. Those who were inside the city described it as an awful ruin, not a twentieth part of the old houses standing. The Tartar city was enclosed within the general wall, but it had also very strong fortifications of its own, though, with all its strength, it could not resist the assault of the rebels, who massacred the whole population, men, women, and children. The palaces of the king and chief are the only respectable buildings now inside the walls. The population of the entire city is now said to be about 50,000; every one is registered, and put under some board to work, for which they receive nothing but their food, and not too much of that. Mr. Muirhead stated that it was quite a mistake to think the rebels wanted missionaries; the fact is, they want to convert the missionaries to their own monstrous doctrines.
“March the 2nd. We left Nankin, and proceeded through a flat and uninteresting country, and in the afternoon arrived off Wo-hu. Like Nankin, the city proper lies back about two miles from the suburbs that line the river. In the afternoon of the next day a party of us went ashore, and had a long walk over heaps of bricks that had once been streets and houses, but the rebels having taken it, the usual devastation followed. We were conducted all over the place by two sturdy, athletic rebel soldiers, and a more desolate, ruinous state of things it is impossible to conceive. The people were, without exception, in rags, and I did not see one decent shop in the city. The walls, which were falling rapidly into decay, had once been very grand, as was evident by the carved work that still remained over the gates. We calculated from a rising ground that the city and suburbs together must have once covered some seven or eight miles square, but only a very small portion of that is now occupied. We visited one of their mandarins, and to reach his house had to climb a hill, which I can only compare to a high dunghill. Up one side we went and down the other, being in great danger of slipping and falling at every step—and if we had, what a mess we should have been in! One of the merchants of our party had a short talk with the mandarin on business. He was a fine energetic man of about twenty-five. He treated us very kindly, giving us the usual Chinese welcome of a cup of tea. Peeping from behind a screen, I saw two or three pretty-looking girls, I suppose his wives, for they have unlimited quantities of that commodity. The river here, 260 miles from the sea, is considerably broader than the Thames at Greenwich. On the bank of the river close to the town, and under the eyes of hundreds of the inhabitants, was to be seen the disgusting spectacle of dogs devouring a human body. The next day we proceeded up the river, passing alternately fleets of the rebels and Imperialists, who must surely have some understanding with each other, as you meet with them frequently within ten miles of each other, yet they never fight. We passed the city of Ngankin, which you may remember had the impertinence to fire at us on our voyage up the river in 1858. It is still in the hands of the rebels, though the Imperialists have completely surrounded them with their lines of circumvallation, and are making their gradual approaches to the city in a series of zig-zags. Not that either party appear to hurry over their work, as, while we passed, one gun about every ten minutes was the average of the firing. The city itself looked in good repair. At the angles of the walls stakes had been driven into the ground in immense quantities. Outside the wall was a beautiful pagoda, strongly fortified, quite surrounded with spikes and chevaux de frise: and outside of the city were the usual ruins of suburbs, almost as large as the city itself. I suppose they were considered indefensible, and so they destroyed them. This siege has now been going on to our knowledge for two years, and goodness knows how much longer it may continue. The country for miles round, indeed as far as we could see, looked quite uninhabited, evidently in consequence of the war; except that at places we passed on the river we saw crowds of people that seemed to have been driven from their homes, and living in temporary huts of straw. The next day, the 5th, we passed a large walled city, Tu-nglin, in the hands of the Imperialists, who, to make sure of keeping it, have a large army stationed round it. It presented quite a gay appearance as we passed; banners past all numeration were waving in the sun, every other soldier had one; if they had fewer banners and more guns it would perhaps be better for the poor people. Farther on we passed a remarkable conical rock in the middle of the river called “Little Orphan,” on the extreme top of which was placed a joss-house, and on a narrow shelf midway up another temple; how ever the people get to it we could not see. At this place the river is remarkably narrow, not more than three-eighths of a mile in width, running rapidly through a gorge between two high mountains. We anchored at dark off the entrance to the Poyang lakes, and in the morning we found the scenery was grander than ever, hill rising behind hill, till they towered up into mountains, the back ground filled in with a lofty range whose peaks were covered with snow. Here there is a military town called Ho-kow, surrounded with a strong and good wall. This at one time belonged to the rebels, but they left it when the Imperialists took possession. There were only 1000 men of the Imperialist army here, and awful looking wretches they were, the lowest of the low. No wonder they always run away when the rebels approach, for these latter, to do them justice, have the look of men about them.
“Next morning we left Ho-kow, leaving behind the Atalanta and Havoc to survey the lakes. We soon reached Kewkeang, a large and populous city, walled, though not in good repair.
“The country here is evidently more settled and better cultivated, being more out of the reach of the rebels. I was unable to go ashore, but by all accounts the city was like all other Chinese cities, very dirty, though evidently flourishing. Next morning we left, and passed through a beautiful district, the river making many windings among the hills: the valleys were well cultivated, and densely populated villages, pagodas, and towns crowding on the eye. In the evening we anchored off the town of Wang-chow-ho, where we stayed next day, being Sunday. On the other side of the river is another large town, though Wang-chow is the capital of the province. After divine service a party of us went to the opposite town, as the country looked more inviting, and had a pleasant ramble, though we saw nothing remarkable. We were treated by the people with great civility, which was not the case with another party that went ashore at Wang-chow. The people were very insulting, and threw several brickbats at them. They went to complain to the chief mandarin, who made them a humble apology, the substance of which was, that the great literary examination was going on in the town, and that all the “roughs” of the province had collected in consequence. He led them out of the town himself, the crowd following, and occasionally hooting; and directly he got them outside the gates were shut on the rabble. A word about these examinations. They are held in the capital of the province every three years (I think), for degrees or rather places in the government. The hall in this town is said to accommodate 8000 pupils, each of whom has a separate cell, and all the cells look out into the court-yard, so that though the pupils cannot communicate with any one outside, or with each other, they can be plainly seen by the officers in the court-yard. Well, in these cells they are kept writing the essays, which are not given out till they are all assembled inside, and for three days, while they are writing the essays, they are not allowed to leave their cells on any pretence whatever. I am sure I don’t know whom to pity most—the pupils, or the examiners who have to read the thousands of essays all on the same subject.
“Monday, the 11th. We steamed along through a highly populous country, till in the afternoon we arrived at Han-kow, the termination of our voyage, having been exactly four weeks on the passage. We here met with just such another crowd of boats round us as we had two years before. We found the town in a flourishing condition, much more built up than when I saw it before. The mandarins and people were remarkably civil, and I had several pleasant walks through the towns of Han-kow and Han-yan, which is a large walled city on the other side of the river, and the capital of the province. The walls round this city are extremely thick, and are said to be twenty miles round, though I think that an exaggeration. They enclose, however, a considerable quantity of cultivated ground, and a ridge of hill that runs right across the city. Here we could not move without having three or four soldiers following us to keep the crowd off. There is nothing particular in either of these cities, unless it be a tunnel the people of Han-yan have bored through the ridge I spoke of, from one side of the town to the other. While we were going through we happened to meet the viceroy in state, with a guard of Tartar horse, armed with their six-feet bows; fine, tall, strapping fellows they were too. After the guard followed executioners (horribly ugly fellows), and a “tail” longer than a Highland chieftain’s, all wearing gaudy silk dresses ornamented with tinsel.
“On the 13th the admiral decided on going in the Coromandel farther up the river, and agreed to give the gentlemen composing the overland expedition to India a tow up in the junk they had hired as far as he went. The evening before, their fellow journeyers so far gave them a farewell dinner on board the Cowper, which was going off very pleasantly indeed; but while our enjoyment was at its height, and the champagne corks flying freely, we were roused by the cry of “A man overboard,” and though every exertion was made, the poor fellow was carried down by the current and lost; he bore the character of a very steady young man. The next morning the expedition started in tow of the admiral, and we rather astonished the Chinese by the cheers we sent after them. The admiral was only five days away, during which time they had ascended 150 miles up the river beyond Han-kow, without any difficulty whatever, the river still continuing as broad and deep as at the town, so that it is quite impossible to say how far ships may ascend. The country up the river was flat and highly cultivated. During the admiral’s absence we enjoyed ourselves in fine style, looking about us, and watching the immense trade and traffic of all descriptions that was everywhere carried on. But four-and-twenty hours put a stop to it all. One day, a report was raised that the rebels had taken the city of Wang-chow, where the examinations were going on as we passed it, and that they were marching on Han-kow. Immediately trade was at a stand-still; everyone began packing up; scarcely a shop was to be seen open; and those that were had all in readiness for their occupiers running off. I was on shore the day after the report, and could scarcely believe that I was in the same place. Men, women, and children, loaded with seemingly the first things that came to hand, were rushing out of the town. The scene that presented itself to our view it is impossible to describe. Outside of the city a flat level country was covered, as far as the eye could see, with crowds of people, getting away as hard as they were able; and towards evening the panic became positively frightful. As a party of us were coming along the principal street, trying to stem the torrent that rushed madly past us, one Chinaman who was coming along with the rest, as soon as he saw us, fell on his knees, caught hold of one of our party, whom it seems he had formerly known in Shanghai, and entreated us to go with him to his office; and there he went down on his knees again and seemed to think that now he had got hold of us he was safe. This Chinaman was a banker, and had been deserted by all his clerks and servants, who, hearing the alarm, had rushed out of the office, leaving all their employer’s capital exposed, amounting to as much silver as four men could carry, and something like two or three tons of copper cash. We had his silver removed to a place of safety; as for the copper cash the owner was indifferent to it, and seemed to think that neither thieves nor rebels would meddle with it on account of its weight. While thousands were thus escaping by land, thousands more were escaping by the river in junks of every size and shape, from the little ferry-boat into which were crowded fathers and mothers, perhaps grandfathers and grandmothers,—six or seven children, two or three pigs, and a heap of household furniture,—to the large-sized river-junks that seemed to be carrying forty or fifty families. Both the river and its tributary, the Han, were perfectly alive with boats and junks, the passengers having only one object in view—escape from the rebels. I was particularly struck with the passive look of helpless misery in the countenances of the fugitives—no tears, no lamentations; they seemed to take it as a decree of fate, against which resistance and complaint were alike hopeless. As you may be aware, the town has been destroyed two or three times by these blackguards, and each time with great slaughter of the defenceless inhabitants. It is quite unprotected, having no walls, as it is not considered a city by the Chinese, but only as a mart of trade, where the merchants meet to transact business, but consider some other place as their home. It was calculated that of all the people we saw running away at least 10,000 would die of starvation before a month was out.
“We afterwards found it to be quite true that the rebels had taken Wang-chow, and in the simplest possible manner. A hundred men passed through the investing lines at Ngankin, and shaving their heads (for the rebels distinguish themselves from the Imperialists by wearing all their hair), and dressing themselves up as Imperialist soldiers, they entered the town without suspicion, and early next morning opened the gates to their comrades, and the town fell without a struggle. One of the officials at Han-kow being asked what he thought of all these troubles, his answer was to the effect that Providence every ten years sends some minor calamity, such as famine, or inundation; but that every two hundred years some universal calamity takes place, and as the Tartar dynasty has now been established two hundred years, after overthrowing the Ming, or native Chinese dynasty, who knows but that we are about to have another dynasty? But I find I must curb my recollections, or I shall never finish this letter.
“We left Han-kow on the 18th of March, and proceeded rapidly down with the stream, only delayed at Ho-kow by losing two of our anchors, and spending nearly two days fishing for them, and after all we only found one of them. I went ashore, and had a pleasant but rather tiring walk, climbing to the top of a high hill to get a view of the Poyang Lake; and it certainly was worth the trouble. The hills are bare and sterile, but the valleys present a great contrast, being quite beautiful, and covered with the most luxuriant vegetation. I managed to get a view of the lakes which run up the country to a great extent. The ships left for survey had not been able to do much during our absence. The water was too shallow, and the work must be left to the rainy season. On the 25th we got back to Nankin; and here I had an opportunity to visit the far-famed Porcelain Tower. Our way lay between the walls of the city on one side, and a creek of the river on the other. The wall was at least forty feet thick, of solid stone and brickwork. We tried to enter one of the gates, but were turned back, not having a pass. All round there were remains of what had once been extensive suburbs, but were now only heaps of bricks. Other remains there were, by no means pleasant, in the shape of human bones, lying about. I saw no less than four almost perfect skeletons; and at two gates we passed were crowds of the most wretched human beings I ever saw—loathsome and disgusting—that almost made me faint to see them. At last we reached the Porcelain Tower, or rather, I am sorry to say, its ruins. It is still, however, a pile of forty feet high, built of common brick, and faced with porcelain three inches thick, supported inside with iron ribs; we saw segments of the circles of iron still there. Much of the porcelain lay strewed on the ground. We, of course, loaded ourselves with the best pieces we could find, and I hope some day to show you what nearly broke my back carrying down. Some others of the party, expecting to get a boat, hired Chinamen to carry their loads for them; but, being disappointed in getting one as soon as they expected, the Chinamen struck work, dropped their load, and ran off, so the gentlemen had to pick up the finest of the specimens, and let the rest go. Fortunately, about half-way back, we did manage to get a boat, or I should certainly have dropped the half if not the whole of mine.
“Next day I joined the same party to visit the tombs of the Mings, or old Chinese emperors, and had a most delightful walk in an opposite direction to our excursion of the day before: we had a walk of eight miles between the city walls and the deserted Imperialist lines I mentioned before. From some of the hills we had to cross I got a capital view of the city itself. As I before told you, the principal part is a ruin—certainly more than the principal part. The Tartar city inside is a complete desolation (the rebels are always down on the Tartars, and never spare man, woman, or child of the race when in their power). At some places I found traces of the struggle that had taken place by the number of cannon balls strewing the ground. At the top of the last hill we came in sight of colossal group of animals that form the avenue to the tombs. These figures are double the size of life, carved out of the solid stone. First there are two horses, one opposite the other; then two sitting opposite each other; then four tigers, in the same position as the horses; then four lions, ditto; then four elephants, and last, four dromedaries. This avenue led to a square building, in which was a colossal tortoise, on the back of which was placed a tomb-stone, 30 feet high, inscribed all over with Chinese characters. At right angles from the entrance of the avenue was another avenue, bordered not like the other with animals, but with groups of warriors and priests. This led to an enormous building, but in such a ruinous condition that we could neither make top nor tail of it. That it had at one time been very magnificent was evident by the painted tiles that lay strewed around, the paint of which even now looked quite fresh. There were the remains of a grand gate leading to a vast temple. Then the temple itself was completely in ruins. Part of the terrace only remained leading to a wide bridge, which again led to an enormous pile of square building, having a tunnel through it, which, being on an incline, brought us out on the top, some fifty or sixty feet from the ground, and double that in area. It would require diagrams to give you an adequate idea of the extent and vastness of the whole affair. The stone sculptures were skilfully done, but with an utter want of taste and grace; the animals were heavy and without life in them: and as for the elephants, the ones that were kneeling had their legs turned out instead of inwards, giving them a very odd appearance. The Imperialist lines I mentioned before had gone right through these tunnels, which accounts for the desolation in which we found them, for mere age would not have so destroyed them, though they evidently are of a very high antiquity. The Chinese cannot have the bump of veneration, or they would never have allowed these interesting relics of a past age to be so destroyed. I brought back a few painted tiles from these ruins also, and never did I feel so tired as in carrying them; the weight got heavier every mile, and even now my shoulders ache with the effects of the load.
“We left Nankin on the 28th of March, thoroughly disgusted with the rebels. There was nothing to be had from them, or what they had was frightfully dear; but the fact I believe is, that the poor wretches themselves are almost starving. We arrived at Shanghai on the evening of the next day, and so finished our cruise, of which I have only to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.”