A Voyage on the Grand Canal of China: Leaves From an Unpublished Journal

IN the spring of 1860, being at Shanghai, in the course of a voyage round the world, I was invited to join some friends in a boat expedition up the Grand Canal to the famous city of SuChau. This city had a great reputation for beauty and interest (being called “the Paris of China "), attributable, I am inclined to think, in some degree to the fact that it had very rarely been seen by a foreigner. Lord Macartney passed through it on his embassy to Pekin, in 1792, by special permission, but no other foreigner is supposed to have seen it until 1857, when a few permissions were given, but soon recalled. My energetic friends were determined to make the attempt. True, there was a state of war with Great Britain and France, but the interior of China knew little of that, and we should carry the American flag, which the officials would know to be neutral.

Our party consisted of Mr. Walsh, of the American house of Russell & Company, who planned the expedition ; Rev. Mr, Syle, of the American Church Mission; another missionary, Mr. Smith; De Lindau, a German savant; and myself. We had three boats, — one for the kitchen and the dining-room, and two for the passengers. Each boat had six oarsmen and large sails, which we used when there was wind enough and it was not ahead ; for the Grand Canal is very wide, and its commerce floats upon it as on a large river. Our passenger boats were handsomely fitted up with sleeping-rooms and parlors, containing a small piano and bookcases with a plentiful supply for reading, to say nothing of backgammon boards, dominoes, and other lighter resources. Beside the oarsmen, cooks, etc., we had a superb Chinese butler, with long nails and slippers, and a private servant for each of us. Mr. Syle had been fourteen years in China, knew the colloquial language well, and, what is more, understood the people, and had a good deal of that address and diplomatic skill which tell more than anything else upon the Chinese.

We had a beautiful start-off in the evening, with a full moon, fair tide, clear sky, and exquisite weather. The river (the Yang-Tse-Kiang), the high-arched bridges, the crowds of gliding boats, making scarce a sound, gave the whole a fairylike air. At the first large bridge is a gate, which was closed, and here was a chance for the exhibition of Chinese officialism, — prolonged diplomacy ending in money and open gates. We sat upon the deck of our boat till midnight, captivated with the scene. If any one has not traveled in well-appointed canal boats, there is an experience of voyaging, with a charm of its own, with which he is yet to become acquainted. Your conveniences at hand and in a small compass, the perfect stillness of the gliding boat, the passage through towns and cultivated fields, with all forms of industry in sight, the absence of risk, the opportunity of stepping ashore for walking and little expeditions to places of interest or pleasure, and the leisurely habits into which you so easily fall combine to give this mode of travel an attractiveness of its own; the more agreeable from its contrast witli the dust and noise of a highway, and the all but universal din, smoke, jar, and fury of steam by land or sea.

May 7. At the caucus of the five passengers this morning we settled our routine. We are to be called early, take a cup of tea and toast in our several rooms, religious service by the clergy, a walk of an hour or so on the shore, and breakfast at nine. Midday being hot, we keep under cover until four, when we have dinner. Walks again along the banks until the evening. Our first morning walk was very interesting, there being frequent villages close upon the canal, occasional temples and pagodas, and now and then a Buddhist monastery, many groves of trees, and the continuous fields of wheat, rice, and vegetables which mark the endless, untiring industry of this people. Verily, their industry is without pause or stint! Every square foot is under cultivation, and laborers are everywhere. How the manuring of the soil is attended to ! They dig up the sediment from the rivers and canals, place it. in pits, add to it all they can get to make a compost, and spread it over their lands, which by this means give two crops a year, one of wheat and one of rice. They have floating mud machines, which dredge the sediment somewhat like our own excavators; but they doubtless had them centuries before Columbus sailed westward, — probably, as Horace Smith says, before antiquity began. At almost every house people are weaving cott on cloth by handlooms, and sometimes in the open air, with warps thirty or forty yards long. There are numerous little pits in which they make indigo.

The frequent tributaries to the Grand Canal compel us, in our walks, to turn off into the country to find bridges ; but we always find them, and not far off , and they are always of stone, high-arched, always neat, and often ornamented. These little deviations, carrying us into villages where we are objects of great curiosity, are very interesting and instructive. There are pagodas in sight, and groups of small stone gates and arches erected to the honor of persons who have been noted for learning or virtue, and especially to young widows who have refused remarriage. A bridge we passed to-day is called the “ Bridge of the Literary Star,”for the Chinese are grandiloquent. There are no windmills in China, so far as I have seen or can learn.

This easy traveling, going on day and night, brought us at last to the borders of Su-Chau. For several hours we floated through the suburbs, and at last halted at the great gate, made our boats fast, and held a conference as to how we should begin our assault upon the city. One plan was to take sedan-chairs, close them up, and try to go through the gate unseen. Another proposal was to keep within the cabins, and let our Chinamen try to take the boats through the water gate. But we came to the conclusion to try the open course of presenting ourselves at the great gate, and modestly suing for admission. Under the lead of Mr. Syle, with grave faces and an air of placid assurance, which he says is necessary with the Chinese, we approached the gate Yi-Mung. Two or three mandarins came out, we were stopped, and a crowd soon gathered. Mr. Syle was imperturbable and pertinacious, and exquisitely polite up to the highest Chinese standard, and got into a conference with the chief official, which resulted in our being invited into the rooms of the governor of the gate, which were built over it. The governor received us with great ceremony, tea was served, and a general conversation began, with Mr. Syle as interpreter. He soon discovered that the governor had been Tu-Tai of Shanghai during some troublous times, and had done good service to the foreign residents. First Mr. Syle skillfully informed us of the fact, and then asked us if we were not greatly pleased to pay our respects to so illustrious a man who had rendered such services to our countrymen. To this we assented, and Mr. Syle, with all the Chinese expletives, laid this tribute at his Excellency’s feet. This was a master stroke ; he was flattered and softened, To our first request for admission he had replied, wit h the extravagant politeness of his people, that it was impossible; the law was fixed and rigid. He wrung his hands, — it almost wrung his heart, — he all but wept, to think that he must refuse such eminent personages as we clearly were, who had traveled so far, I from the antipodes, expressly to see the world-renowned city of Su-Chau. This had no effect whatever upon the diplomatic Mr. Syle. He planted himself, evidently for a prolonged interview, and seated us all accordingly. Etiquette would not permit his Excellency to rise or otherwise break up the interview, and in this assembly there was no way of putting the previous question, so it seemed to have no natural termination. His Excellency, with bows and smiles, inquired the ages, names, and occupations of each of us in turn, which Mr. Syle gave him, without diminution, i suspect, as to our dignities at home, With all the ceremony and etiquette of Chinese officials, it was singular that some part of the crowd was let into the room, and even offered opinions on the pending question; and wo had warm friends among them. Mr. Syle reported progress from time to time, and said there were signs of relenting. How thoroughly Chinese was the result I His Excellency said that although it was true, as a rule, that no foreigner could be admitted, yet there was an exception which allowed the governor a discretion where foreigners, not more than five in number (which was just our number), applied before nine o’clock in the morning (which was just our situation), and would take a guard or escort with them (without which we certainly should n’t have attempted to show ourselves in a city of two millions of people), and he would exercise his discretion in our favor. We thanked him profusely, and offered to pay for the escort. Oh, no! Two soldiers and a guide were enough, and his dignity would not permit us to pay. An intelligent guide appeared, who was duly instructed to show the chief places to these illustrious foreigners; and two braves, with big paper breastplates covered with heroic mottoes from the classics, and holding long spears, which they were continually twirling round their fingers, went, one before and one behind us. And, with mutual expressions of the best will and the highest hopes, we parted with the governor, who descended to the lowest step of the gate, and whose countenance was intended to express alternately, in equal proportions, delight at pleasing us and dejection at parting from us. He assured us that no boats not official could pass after the gate was once closed. The refusal seemed all the more decisive from its extreme politeness. But the countenance of Mr. Syle exhibited no discomfiture. Instead of moving off, he sat down quietly, awaiting a change of policy, and engaged the officer in conversation upon general topics of interest. The gentleman, whose name was U-u, inquired about Dr. Hobson’s work on anatomy, which had been lately translated into Chinese, and of English works on history and geography, the names of which he knew, and some of which he had obtained at great expense and trouble at this inland city. Mr. Syle took his address and a memorandum of the books which he named, and promised to send them to him from Shanghai. Mr. Syle thought he had now advanced his earthworks far enough for an assault; and telling him of our distinguished party of learned men, magistrates and scholars, suggested the great honor he might do us and the great pleasure he would confer if he would pay us a visit on board our boat. He accepted the invitation with as much eagerness as etiquette and dignity would permit; and, bringing a small force of servants to carry lanterns and keep off the crowd, be was soon seated in the cabin of our boat. Cigars and wine were offered him. He took one or two puffs at the cigar and one sip of the wine, and when he was pressed, instead of saying that they were too strong for him, said he feared he was not strong enough for them. The conversation became very interesting. He was a scholar, a student of KongFutz and Mentz ; had received high degrees, as the costly gem on his cap indicated, and was inclined to philosophic speculations; had read many English works translated into Chinese, and was eager for more. He confessed, or rather asserted, the superiority of Western science, and looked forward to its spread in China. He was dressed in the most costly silks, tastefully cut and arranged, and of colors so exquisite that we could hardly keep our eyes off them. We certainly could not keep our eyes off him. The effect he produced can be expressed by no other word than charm. He did not overdo manner, as many Chinese do, and there was an appearance of more sincerity in his kindness and attentions than we usually give his race credit for. He scarcely moved in his seat. There was nothing approaching a hasty gesture or action, only an exquisite repose, yet his voice and face were alive with interest. He summoned one of his servants, excused himself for writing something on a paper, dismissed the servant, and resumed the conversation. Soon Mr. Syle, looking out of the window, told us that the boat was moving, but that we must not notice it. The spell of our visitor’s politeness was upon us all. What was to become of our friend ? The boat still moved on, but there was no interruption to the conversation. At last a servant appeared, made a bow to our visitor, and retired. He then rose, and said that this happiness must come to an end; that time had passed faster than he thought in such instructive and agreeable conversation. He took down the name and address of each of us, and hoped that something would give him the pleasure of seeing us again, though he could not suppose that we should think it worth while to revisit Su-Chau. It was clearly his purpose to leave the boat and get beyond the reach of our thanks before we should discover that the gates had been opened, our three boats taken through, and that we were nearly at the end of the suburb, with a free course down the canal.

We ere early, and the narrow streets, seldom more than six or eight feet wide, were not as thronged as I had usually seen them in Chinese cities. Our first visit was to an old, dim, smoky, pagodabuilt temple dedicated to San-Tsing (the three Pure Ones). It is four or five stories in height, each with its idols, shrines, and tapers. One great idol has the name of Shang-Ti, which, Mr. Syle tells me, the first Protestant translators of the Scriptures unfortunately adopted for the Deity, with somewhat the same effect as it the Evangelists had adopted Zeus from the Greeks. Our next visit was to the famous nine-storied pagoda. As w e made our way the crowd increased, and as far as we could see along the narrow streets was a dense mass of skullcaps with silk buttons and long cues; and the people flocked to their windows and doors as we passed by. Probably none of them had seen a foreigner before that day. The pagoda stands in an open square, and before we got to its base the entire square was full, I may say packed with people. Our two braves had a good deal of difficulty in keeping off the crowd, though the crowd had no ill intentions. We were safe enough within the pagoda, for we paid two dollars for admission, and did not care to invite the bystanders. But from the temple there could be no exclusion, and the crowd pressed upon our heels even to the feet of the idols. Though some of our party tapped the idols familiarly with their canes, the crowd made no objection, and, though intensely curious, was well deported. The only danger was from the pressure from behind, which those in front might not be able to resist.

The pagoda is in good repair. Each story has its outside gallery, and there are inside stairs from story to story. The upper story gives a view of the great city and its suburbs. The suburbs are very large, and the walls on one side inclose extensive unoccupied lands, — some used for cultivation, none laid out for pleasure grounds,—mere wastes. On the city walls, which are high, in good repair, and moated, and in some places ivy-grown, numerous banners are hung out and a few soldiers are stationed. The Chinese are not free from the vanity of writing names in public places, and the stories of the pagoda are scribbled over with names and sentiments.

We next visited the institution for the poor. It is not a house, but a district of small houses inclosed within a wall, and all under one rule. There are about a thousand paupers here, from eight to ten living in each house. The institution is a public charity, but I regret to report no drainage, bad smells, and very little care. The paupers seemed to take charge of their own houses. The prevailing diseases obvious to sight were ophthalmia and elephantiasis.

We returned to our boats for a late breakfast, thoroughly hungry and a little tired. We paid our guide and braves a reasonable sum : but soon down hurried an officer from the governor of the gate, scuffing along in his slippers, with his silk robes flying, shaking his head and wringing his hands in distress that we should have offered money. I had been so impressed with the diplomacy of the Chinese that I thought all this only meant that he had n’t got anything. But no, it was in good faith, and we were obliged to apologize, and there was more bowing and smiling, and protestations of joy and distress.

After breakfast we went off again with our guide and braves through the northern suburb, which is built on both sides of the Grand Canal of China. This is beautiful, and goes far to justify the foreign notions of Su-Chau. The canal is wide, lined with trees, good houses, and pretty shops of every variety, with here and there grounds walled in, indicating the residences of the wealthy. The bridges are stately, always of stone, with arches high, mostly more than half circles, and canals cross the main canal, making a Chinese Venice of the city. A crowd pressed upon us all the while as we walked among the shops, but was almost always civil. There were a few cases of insulting words, but when Mr. Syle turned and rebuked them gently the crowd took his part. The most attractive shops are the flower shops, which are filled with dwarfed trees, shrubs, and flowers in pots. In most cases we were invited to the gardens in the rear, where the plants are growing. We bought some pots of flowers, absurdly cheap, to ornament our boat. The great number of these flower shops indicates the good and gentle taste of the people.

Lastly we visited the celebrated pagoda of Hu-Chau-Tah, — the pagoda of the Tiger District. The pagoda is on a hill, and the grounds are made up of artificial piles of rock grown over with plants, groves of trees, avenues of trees, plateaus of smooth rocks, stairs in rocks, rest-houses with wide roofs for shade, plats ornamented with flowers, and frequent houses for refreshment. At one of these last, which commands a view over the whole city of Su-Chau and the country for miles about it, we took tea, cakes, and confectionery, the simple and harmless refreshments of nearly all China, and ended with buying out a confectioner’s entire tray for seventy-five cents, and distributing its contents among the nearest boys. The grounds of this pagoda are the favorite resort, by daylight and by lantern-light, of the people of leisure in this city, and Su-Chau is said to have more people of leisure than any other city of China. In the pagoda, in a dim, remote room, among grim idols, was a school of thirty or forty boys, all studying aloud different things at the top of their voices, under the usual halfstarved, dejected-looking teacher of the lower schools, — the désappointé, no doubt, of a dozen examinations for higher degrees.

After a day of great interest and pleasure we returned to our boats, the triumph of having seen Su-Chau greatly augmented by the fact that it was a pleasure of which we had very much the monopoly. After dinner, as we moved along the great canal, we sat out on the deck in chairs, smoking, talking, and looking at the never-ending varieties of boats, bridges, wonderstruck, gazing people, evening lanterns, lighted houses, and tapers burning in the niches for ancestral worship.

At about nine o’clock we reached a great gate which shuts across the canal, and through which there is no passage after dark. The universal rule along the canal seemed to be that in the great cities there should be water gates at each end and no night travel. But these obstructions were to Mr. Syle only new incentives for diplomacy. He took me ashore with him to find the custom house, which always stands near the gate. The amazement of these quiet Chinamen, sitting at their doors and counters, at the spectacle of two strange men, in such strange costume, with light complexions and hair and no skullcaps or cues, was too much for them, and they poured out and pressed upon us, until we were glad to find ourselves within the custom house. Here we found a high official, whose exact rank we did not know, but who appeared to have full powers. There was something extremely interesting and impressive in the aspect of this gentleman ; for gentleman he was, if ever I saw one. He was young, say twenty-five or thirty, with a countenance of great intelligence, frankness, and gentleness, with every appearance of integrity, and a charm of manner which would have carried off the prize for politeness in any competitive examination, however cosmopolitan it might be, as we all said at last, after an evening spent with him.

We held a short consultation about money. We had been told that every official in China, whatever his rank or dignity, would take money, if not bribes. We had not found it so thus far, and to offer money to such a being as this, to do him that wrong, a being so majestical! We agreed that Mr. Syle should make him a speech, telling him that we were aware that some poor men at the gates must have been put to labor beyond their hours ; that we could not think of leaving without making them compensation; that we could not find them, or know how to distribute it properly ; and would he, might we presume to ask him to take charge of a small purse, and let some one distribute it in our name? But no ; he detected the slightest scent of money, and the manner in which he waved away Mr. Syle and the whole subject was incomparable, I may say indescribable. He did not utter a word ; but a look of distress, — I cannot say of even the slightest reproach, — a wave of the hand, a bow, and the immediate resuming of the conversation where it had stopped combined in the decisi ve result of humbled acquiescence on our part. We selected a few books from our shelves, Chinese translations, some of them, of the Gospels, which he consented to receive as a memorial of us and our visit, on the assurance that we could easily supply their places in Shanghai. It was raining and dark, and we were at a considerable distance from his apartments. His servants were on the bank with a covered chair and lanterns, and this delightful vision vanished from our sight. By his kindness we had saved twenty-four hours ; for by traveling all night we readied the next large city in the morning, and prevented two nights of delay.

I have no time to carry you through the rest of our delightful journey with much detail. We visited many large cities, of from 50,000 to 200,000 or 300,000 inhabitants each, mostly walled, and many villages, temples, pagodas, and monasteries. After breakfast, the next morning, we stopped at a village, Wei-SanTsung, at the foot of the famous range of hills, the Wei-San. It is a beautiful village, built upon an artificial basin covered with lotus leaves, lined with trees, and into it pours a stream of pure water from a stone aqueduct. From the village we ascended the series of hills, each having its temple. At the highest we stopped, and spent an hour or two in delighted viewing of the broad landscape. The cities of the great plain lay beneath us. A boundless plain it is, appearing to us, at this height, perfectly level, and green with fields of wheat and rice, and everywhere cultivated. No fences, no roads, no feeding cattle ; but rivers, canals, bridges, and endless, endless fields of grain, mites of men at work, mites of boats floating up and down, and the whole studded with hamlets of three and four or twenty and thirty houses each, standing under groups of trees, and looking like islands upon a green sea. The industry, the populousness, of China have not been overrated. Large cities of 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 inhabitants occur at frequent intervals, and villages like ant-hills, while the country is alive with laborers, tracking the boats, dredging for the muck-heaps, fishing, planting, transplanting, spinning and weaving in the open air.

The Grand Canal, in a long silver thread, runs through the plain to the northward; and there, just seen on the horizon, is the broader sheet of the great river Yang-Tse-Kiang; and out of sight, but not far off, lies the former capital of China, the southern capital, Nan-King, now in possession of the rebels, the longhaired men. That collection of white tents at the foot of our range of hills is the imperialist camp, the outermost toward the rebel lines. Bounding the whole western horizon, filling up a quarter of the circle, is the great lake TaHu, its shores looking like the seacoast, with no land visible across its waters. The air is so pure, the day so bright, the view so limitless, that we can hardly leave it in time for our descent.

A large part of the village had started with us, dropping off gradually as we ascended, and now rejoined us, and we trooped through the village and the temple and to the walls of the tea garden, where the crowd seemed willing to leave us. The tea garden had the usual artificial rockery grown over with creeping plants, artificial sheets of water covered with lotus leaves and deep shaded by trees, rows of flower-pots on low brick walls, climbing roses, ivy-grown walls, grottoes, and little roofed polygons, in which were polished tables and solemn Chinese with pipes and teacups. On the whole, this village of Wei-San-Tsung is a choice place, — a place of retreat for people in good circumstances, and adorned and kept in order accordingly.

After dinner we drop down to visit the camp. At a handsome polygonal building with pagoda roof our boat is stopped, and our boatmen report, " No can,” and there is a prodigious hubbub of voices on the bank, and a military mandarin, with pale-yellow button and peacock ’s tail, hurries down to ask how we can possibly think of entering the camp ! Mr. Syle comes into requisition again, and succeeds in persuading the official that it is eminently proper that we should pay our respects to the chief in the big house. So we are conducted there, and the chief receives us most generously, begs us to be seated, while tea and pipes are brought, and Mr. Syle draws him into a long conversation. Here again is this singular aspect of Chinese life. Awful as is the great mandarin, the common crowd come into the room, filling up all but a little space about the chairs, listening to everything, and signifying their interest or approval by low sounds and unmistakable grimaces. Mr. Syle says that the officers like in this way to magnify themselves before the common people, and in this instance make the most of the condescension of admitting great personages to the camp, which of course this officer eventually did ; for he was fated when Mr. Syle fastened him in conversation.

The camp was a scene of wretchedness, with no drainage or other contrivances for health or decency ; it had no cannon or muskets, but the weapons of seven centuries ago, and little discipline or order, the troops being a kind of militia, with no Tartars (the real soldiers of China) among them ; but in contrast with all this were the neat white tents, on each of which was stamped the imprint “ Amoskeag N. H.”

In the dusk of the evening, on a Chinese boat that we pass in the canal, a woman on the roof is uttering strange piteous cries at the top of her voice, stretching forth her hands toward the sky. She is calling back the spirit of her child, lying unconscious below. The spirit of the child has wandered off, and the mother is calling it home. Soon an attendant comes up, tells her the child is itself again, the spirit has found its way back, and the mother is quieted and consoled. In another boat, bearing a coffin, is a constant wail for the dead.

Our next visit was to the beautiful hill Sing-Nga-San, over the " Bridge of the Winds ; ” and at the temple on its summit, the Tsung-Pau (Fasting Monastery), we had the most exquisite view any of us had seen in China, exceeding the Wei-San in variety and striking points. The great city of Su-Chau, with its tall pagoda, is seen in the distance, while the near view gives a grove of evergreens; ivy-grown walls ; a half-ruined sevenstoried pagoda, full of courts and cloisters, — once an imperial residence, now all but entirely deserted; terraces with walls of brick and stone, grown over with creepers, overlooking precipices at the foot of which lie the immense plains, teeming with people, boats, and hamlets, and covered with the verdure of the increasing cultivation of twenty or thirty centuries. This is the seamark of our utmost sail, and we are satisfied.

As we went slowly down the hill, we saw a wall and two men upon it beckoning to us, and pointing to a ladder they had placed against it. Behind the wall were roofs of buildings, nestling in a most romantic spot. Mr. Smith and I were alone, the rest of our party having gone round the hill. I was for following the signal. Mr. Smith agreed to it, and we went up the ladder. The two Chinamen helped us down on the other side, and we found ourselves amid grottoes, deep shades, terraces, opening vistas, and a group of handsome buildings in the best repair; and, as we followed our guides, we came to a court roofed over, open at the sides, where at little tables well-dressed Chinese of the upper class were taking tea, pipes, and sweetmeats. They rose, and, with the traditionary urbanity of ninety generations, requested us by signs to join them, and tea, pipes, and sweetmeats were brought to us ; but not a word could be said on either side. In a few minutes a man came in, and made us understand by signs that there were three men on a path below who seemed to belong to our party, and wished to know if we wanted them brought up. They were sent for, and soon Mr. Syle, Mr. Walsh, and Herr Lindau were standing in the midst, astonished at the discovery of this enchanted scene : Arabian Nights, Aladdin’s Lamp, Open Sesame, and what not! Mr. Syle fell into conversation with the elder and apparently chief man of the party, whose long silk robe of beautiful purple hue and rich lining, hanging in graceful folds, fascinated our eye, and learned that this place was the ancestral hall (hall for ancestral worship) of the Tsiang family, who allow it to be used as a summer resort for people of the town below, and an old dependent of the family makes a living by supplying tea and sweetmeats. An hour more must he spent in rambling about this delightful spot, where Chinese taste had fallen in with, and not interfered with, the natural beauties of the scene.

I have not mentioned the silence of a Chinese city. As we float under the walls of cities, just after nightfall, they are as silent as cities of the dead, affecting one with awe and mystery; and within a city at high noon, no wheels, no shod hoofs, no steam, no sounds louder than the human voice and footfalls, or the hand-machines of simple mechanic trades.

We returned to Shanghai without accident, and with none but the most delightful memories. But after my return to America these memories were shrouded by a gloom of sadness, — nay, of horror. The rebels, the men of long hair, laid siege to Su-Chau, reduced it by famine, at last took it by assault, and gave it over to rapine, fire, and blood. I have been told that there has been no horror like it since the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. 1

Richard Henry Dana.