Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Vol. 2 (of 2)-10
Wine taken hot
ii.
144
122Witnesses in a court of justice
ii.
156
136Women ride astride
i.
354
286Wooden fish, The
ii.
195
174Works of supererogation
i.
426
346Worldly-mindedness
ii.
312
298Wu Wang
i.
278
228Yamên
i.
2
38Yang Ta-hung
ii.
310
297Yang-tsze, The
ii.
176
159Years, Names of
i.
113
111Yellow girdles
i.
66
84
Yin
andthe
yang
, The
i.
176
150Yojana, A
i.
394
319Yü-chiao-li, The
ii.
164
140
BY THE SAME AUTHOR:—
CHINESE SKETCHES.
Demy 8vo. pp. 204.
CHINESE WITHOUT A TEACHER.
Being a Collection of Easy and Useful Sentences in the
Mandarin Dialect, with a Vocabulary. Post 8vo. pp. 60,
paper cover.
DICTIONARY OF COLLOQUIAL IDIOMS.
In the Mandarin Dialect. Demy 4to, half bound.
FROM SWATOW TO CANTON OVERLAND.
Demy 8vo. pp. 76, paper cover.
A GLOSSARY OF REFERENCE,
on subjects connected with the Far East. Demy 8vo. pp. 184,
paper cover.
HAND-BOOK OF THE SWATOW DIALECT.
With a Vocabulary. Demy 8vo. pp. 60, paper cover.
RECORD OF THE BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMS.
Translated from the Chinese. Demy 8vo. pp. 130, paper
cover.
SYNOPTICAL STUDIES IN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE.
Demy 8vo. pp. 118, half bound.
THE SAN TZU CHING;
or, Three Character Classic and the Ch‘ien Tzŭ Wên or 1,000
Character Essay Metrically translated. Post 8vo. pp. 28,
paper cover.
A SHORT HISTORY OF KOOLANGSU.
Demy 8vo. pp. 38, paper cover.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The term “sea-market” is generally understood in the sense of
mirage, or some similar phenomenon.
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[2] A famous General who played a leading part in the wars of the
Three Kingdoms. See No. XCIII., note 127.
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[3] A hit at the hypocrisy of the age.
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[4] Shewing that hypocrisy is bad policy in the long run.
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[5] The tears of Chinese mermaids are said to be pearls.
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[6] See No. XIX., note 135.
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[7] Good ink of the kind miscalled “Indian,” is usually very highly
scented; and from a habit the Chinese have of sucking their
writing-brushes to a fine point, the phrase “to eat ink” has become a
synonym of “to study.”
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[8] This all-important point in a Chinese marriage ceremony is the
equivalent of our own “signing in the vestry.”
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[9] Literally, “if you have no one to cook your food.”
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[10] “Dragon Palace” and “Happy Sea,” respectively.
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[11] Alluding to an old legend of a letter conveyed by a bird.
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[12] See No. V., note 49.
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[13] The “Spinning Damsel,” or name of a star in Lyra, connected with
which there is a celebrated legend of its annual transit across the
Milky Way.
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[14] These are of course only the equivalents of the Chinese names in
the text.
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[15] To keep off the much-dreaded wind, which disturbs the rest of the
departed.
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[16] For which a very high price is obtained in China.
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[17] Of the Ming dynasty; reigned A.D. 1426–1436.
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[18] These beadles are chosen by the officials from among the
respectable and substantial of the people to preside over a small area
and be responsible for the general good behaviour of its inhabitants.
The post is one of honour and occasional emolument, since all
petitions presented to the authorities, all mortgages, transfers of
land, &c., should bear the beadle’s seal or signature in evidence of
their bonâ fide character. On the other hand, the beadle is punished
by fine, and sometimes bambooed, if robberies are too frequent within
his jurisdiction, or if he fails to secure the person of any
malefactor particularly wanted by his superior officers. And other
causes may combine to make the post a dangerous one; but no one is
allowed to refuse acceptance of it point-blank.
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[19] A favourite Chinese expression, signifying the absence of food.
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[20] That is to say, his spirit had entered, during his period of
temporary insanity, into the cricket which had allowed itself to be
caught by his father, and had animated it to fight with such
extraordinary vigour in order to make good the loss occasioned by his
carelessness in letting the other escape.
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[21] This is the term used by the Chinese for “Persia,” often put by
metonymy for things which come from that country, sc. “valuables.”
Thus, “to be poor in Persia” is to have but few jewels, gold and
silver ornaments, and even clothes.
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[22] The name here used is the Hêng or “ceaseless” river, which is
applied by the Chinese to the Ganges. A certain number, extending to
fifty-three places of figures, is called “Ganges sand,” in allusion to
a famous remark that “Buddha and the Bôdhisatvas knew of the creation
and destruction of every grain of dust in Jambudwipa (the universe);
how much more the number of the sand-particles in the river Ganges?”
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[23] Drunkenness is not recognised in China as an extenuating
circumstance; neither, indeed, is insanity,—a lunatic who takes
another man’s life being equally liable with ordinary persons to the
forfeiture of his own.
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[24] A favourite Chinese figure expressive of old age. It dates back
to the celebrated commentary by Tso Ch‘iu Ming on Confucius’ Spring
and Autumn (See No. XLI., note 237):—“Hsi is twenty-three and I am
twenty-five; and marrying thus we shall approach the wood together;”
the “wood” being, of course, that of the coffin.
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[25] See No. VIII., note 63.
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[26]
“... Move these eyes?
... Here are severed lips.”
—Merchant of Venice, Act iii., sc. 2.
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[27] See No. LIII., note 288.
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[28] This method of arranging a matrimonial difficulty is a common one
in Chinese fiction, but I should say quite unknown in real life.
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[29] This term, while really including all literary men, of no matter
what rank or standing, is more usually confined to that large section
of unemployed scholarship made up of (1) those who are waiting to get
started in an official career, (2) those who have taken one or more
degrees and are preparing for the next, (3) those who have failed to
distinguish themselves at the public examinations, and eke out a small
patrimony by taking pupils, and (4) scholars of sufficiently high
qualifications who have no taste for official life.
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[30] Unless under exceptional circumstances it is not considered
creditable in China for widows to marry again. It may here be
mentioned that the honorary tablets conferred from time to time by His
Imperial Majesty upon virtuous widows are only given to women who,
widowed before the age of thirty, have remained in that state for a
period of thirty years. The meaning of this is obvious: temptations
are supposed to be fewer and less dangerous after thirty, which is the
equivalent of forty with us; and it is wholly improbable that thirty
years of virtuous life, at which period the widow would be at least
fifty, would be followed by any act that might cast a stain upon the
tablet thus bestowed.
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[31] Literally, a “pig old-woman dragon.” Porpoise (Fr.
porc-poisson) suggests itself at once; but I think fresh-water
dolphin is the best term, especially as the Tung-t‘ing lake is many
hundred miles inland. The commentator explains it by t‘o, which
would be “alligator” or “cayman,” and is of course out of the
question. My friend, Mr. L. C. Hopkins, has taken the trouble to make
some investigations for me on this subject. He tells me that this
fish, also called the “river pig,” has first to be surrounded and
secured by a strong net. Being too large to be hauled on board a boat,
it is then driven ashore, where oil is extracted from the carcase and
used for giving a gloss to silk thread, &c.
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[32] Literally, in the utter absence of anybody.
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[33] In passing near to the women’s quarters in a friend’s house, it
is etiquette to cough slightly, that inmates may be warned and
withdraw from the doors or windows in time to escape observation. Over
and over again at interviews with mandarins of all grades I have heard
the rustling of the ladies’ dresses from some coigne of vantage,
whence every movement of mine was being watched by an inquisitive
crowd; and on one occasion I actually saw an eye peering through a
small hole in the partition behind me.
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[34] Literally, “bald”—i.e., without the usual width and
ornamentation of a Chinese lady’s sleeve.
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[35] Small waists are much admired in China, but any such artificial
aids as stays and tight lacing are quite unknown. A certain Prince Wei
admitted none but the possessors of small waists into his harem; hence
his establishment came to be called the Palace of Small Waists.
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[36] Probably of felt or some such material, to prevent the young lady
from slipping as she stood, not sat, in the swing.
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[37] A rebel chieftain of the legendary period of China’s history, who
took up arms against the Emperor Huang Ti (B.C. 2697–2597), but was
subsequently defeated in what was perhaps the first decisive battle of
the world.
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[38] This favourite process consists in gently thumping the person
operated upon all over the back with the soft part of the closed
fists. Compare Lane, Arabian Nights, Vol. I., p. 551:—“She then
pressed me to her bosom, and laid me on the bed, and continued gently
kneading my limbs until slumber overcame me.”
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[39] See No. LVI., note 315. A considerable number of the attendants
there mentioned would accompany any high official, some in the same,
the rest in another barge.
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[40] Generally known as the “cut-wave God.”
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[41] At all great banquets in China a theatrical troupe is engaged to
perform while the dinner, which may last from four to six hours, drags
its slow length along.
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[42] See No. LIV., note 292.
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[43] The name of a celebrated beauty.
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[44] In this favourite pastime of the literati in China the important
point is that each word in the second line should be a due and proper
antithesis of the word in the first line to which it corresponds.
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[45] See No. LXII., note 349.
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[46] See No. LXIX., note 35.
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[47] The language in which this fanciful document is couched is
precisely such as would be used by an officer of the Government in
announcing some national calamity; hence the value of these
tales,—models as they are of the purest possible style.
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[48] The examination consists of three bouts of three days each,
during which periods the candidates remain shut up in their
examination cells day and night.
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[49] The name of a place.
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[50] This interesting ceremony is performed by placing little conical
pastilles on a certain number of spots, varying from three to twelve,
on the candidate’s head. These are then lighted and allowed to burn
down into the flesh, while the surrounding parts are vigorously rubbed
by attendant priests in order to lessen the pain. The whole thing
lasts about twenty minutes, and is always performed on the eve of
Shâkyamuni Buddha’s birthday. The above was well described by Mr. S.
L. Baldwin in the Foochow Herald.
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[51] There is a room in most Buddhist temples specially devoted to
this purpose.
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[52] The Buddhist emblem of cleanliness; generally a yak’s tail, and
commonly used as a fly-brush.
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[53] Tree-worship can hardly be said to exist in China at the present
day; though at a comparatively recent epoch this phase of religious
sentiment must have been widely spread. See The Flower Nymphs and
Mr. Willow.
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[54] Literally, “had been allotted the post of Nan-fu magistrate,”
such appointments being always determined by drawing lots.
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[55] Such is one common explanation of catalepsy (see No. I., note
40), it being further averred that the proper lictors of the Infernal
regions are unable to remain long in the light of the upper world.
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[56] Upon a wall at the entrance to every official residence is
painted a huge fabulous animal, called Greed, in such a position
that the resident mandarin must see it every time he goes out of his
front gates. It is to warn him against greed and the crimes that are
sure to flow from it.
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[57] Such, indeed, is the case at the present day in China, and
elsewhere.
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[58] See No. VII., note 54.
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[59] The great sorrow of decapitation as opposed to strangulation is
that the body will appear in the realms below without a head. The
family of any condemned man who may have sufficient means always bribe
the executioner to sew it on again.
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[60] This story is an admirable exposé of Chinese official
corruption, as rampant at the present day as ever in the long history
of China.
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[61] See No. LXIV., note 18.
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[62] Such has, doubtless, been the occasional result of torture in
China; but the singular keenness of the mandarins, as a body, in
recognising the innocent and detecting the guilty,—that is, when
their own avaricious interests are not involved,—makes this
contingency so rare as to be almost unknown. A good instance came
under my own notice at Swatow in 1876. For years a Chinese servant had
been employed at the foreign Custom House to carry a certain sum of
money every week to the bank, and at length his honesty was above
suspicion. On the occasion to which I allude he had been sent as usual
with the bag of dollars, but after a short absence he rushed back with
a frightful gash on his right arm, evidently inflicted by a heavy
chopper, and laying the bone bare. The money was gone. He said he had
been invited into a tea-house by a couple of soldiers whom he could
point out; that they had tried to wrest the bag from him, and that at
length one of them seized a chopper and inflicted so severe a wound on
his arm, that in his agony he dropped the money, and the soldiers made
off with it. The latter were promptly arrested and confronted with
their accuser; but, with almost indecent haste, the police magistrate
dismissed the case against them, and declared that he believed the man
had made away with the money and inflicted the wound on himself. And
so it turned out to be, under overwhelming evidence. This servant of
proved fidelity had given way to a rash hope of making a little money
at the gaming-table; had hurried into one of these hells and lost
everything in three stakes; had wounded himself on the right arm (he
was a left-handed man), and had concocted the story of the soldiers,
all within the space of about twenty-five minutes. When he saw that he
was detected, he confessed everything, without having received a
single blow of the bamboo; but up to the moment of his confession the
foreign feeling against that police-magistrate was undeniably strong.
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[63] See No. I., note 39.
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[64] See No. LXVIII., note 30. The circumstances which led to this
marriage would certainly be considered “exceptional.”
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[65] This being a long and tedious story, I have given only such part
of it as is remarkable for its similarity to Washington Irving’s
famous narrative.
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[66] See No. IV., note 46.
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[67] Borrowed from Buddhism.
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[68] Alluding to a similar story, related in the Record of the
Immortals, of how these two friends lost their way while gathering
simples on the hills, and were met and entertained by two lovely young
damsels for the space of half-a-year. When, however, they subsequently
returned home, they found that ten generations had passed away.
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[69] Besides the above, there is the story of a man named Wang, who,
wandering one day in the mountains, came upon some old men playing a
game of wei-ch‘i (see Appendix); and after watching them for some
time, he found that the handle of an axe he had with him had mouldered
away into dust. Seven generations of men had passed away in the
interval. Also, a similar legend of a horseman, who, when riding over
the hills, saw several old men playing a game with rushes, and tied
his horse to a tree while he himself approached to observe them. A few
minutes afterwards he turned to depart, but found only the skeleton of
his horse and the rotten remnants of the saddle and bridle. He then
sought his home, but that was gone too; and so he laid himself down
upon the ground and died of a broken heart.
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[70] See Appendix A.
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[71] If there is one institution in the Chinese empire which is
jealously guarded and honestly administered, it is the great system of
competitive examinations which has obtained in China now for many
centuries. And yet frauds do take place, in spite of the exceptionally
heavy penalties incurred upon detection. Friends are occasionally
smuggled through by the aid of marked essays; and dishonest candidates
avail themselves of “sleeve editions,” as they are called, of the
books in which they are to be examined. On the whole, the result is a
successful one. As a rule the best candidates pull through; while, in
exceptional cases, unquestionably good men are rejected. Of the latter
class, the author of this work is a most striking instance. Excelling
in literary attainments of the highest order, he failed more than once
to obtain his master’s degree, and finally threw up in disgust.
Thenceforward he became the enemy of the mandarinate; and how he has
lashed the corruption of his age may be read in such stories as The
Wolf Dream, and many others, while the policy that he himself would
have adopted, had he been fortunate enough to succeed, must remain for
ever a matter of doubt and speculation.
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[72] The Infernal Regions are supposed to be pretty much a counterpart
of the world above, except in the matter of light.
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[73] The visitor to Canton cannot fail to observe batches of prisoners
with chains on them sitting in the street outside the prisons, many of
them engaged in plying their particular trades.
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[74] The judge in a Chinese court is necessarily very much dependent
on his secretaries; and, except in special cases, he takes his cue
almost entirely from them. They take theirs from whichever party to
the case knows best how to “cross the palm.”
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[75] The whole story is of course simply a satire upon the venality
and injustice of the ruling classes in China.
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[76] In Book V. of Mencius’ works we read that Shun, the perfect man,
stood with his face to the south, while the Emperor Yao (see No.
VIII., note 63) and his nobles faced the north. This arrangement is
said to have been adopted in deference to Shun’s virtue; for in modern
times the Emperor always sits facing the south.
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[77] Name of a celebrated play.
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[78] These are about as big as a cheese-plate and attached to a short
stick, from which hangs suspended a small button of metal in such a
manner as to clash against the face of the gong at every turn of the
hand. The names and descriptions of various instruments employed by
costermongers in China would fill a good-sized volume.
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[79] See No. XXIII., note 154.
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[80] A famous official who lived in the reign of Hung Wu, first
Emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368–1399). I have not been able to
discover what was the particular act for which he has been celebrated
as “loyal to the death.”
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[81] See No. II., note 42.
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[82] The Chinese, fond as they are of introducing water, under the
form of miniature lakes, into their gardens and pleasure-grounds, do
not approve of a running stream near the dwelling-house. I myself knew
a case of a man, provided with a pretty little house, rent free,
alongside of which ran a mountain-rill, who left the place and paid
for lodgings out of his own pocket rather than live so close to a
stream which he averred carried all his good luck away. Yet this man
was a fair scholar and a graduate to boot.
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[83] That Chinaman thinks his a hard lot who cannot “eat till he is
full.” It may be noticed here that the Chinese seem not so much to
enjoy the process of eating as the subsequent state of repletion. As a
rule, they bolt their food, and get their enjoyment out of it
afterwards.
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[84] The full explanation and origin of this saying I have failed to
elucidate. Dragons are often represented with pearls before their
mouths; and these they are supposed to spit out or swallow as fancy
may take them. The pearl, too, is said to be the essence of the
dragon’s nature, without which it would be powerless; but this is all
I know about the subject.
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[85] Such is the common belief in China at the present day. There is a
God of Thunder who punishes wicked people; the lightning is merely a
mirror, by the aid of which he singles out his victims.
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[86] The “sea-serpent” in this case was probably nothing more or less
than some meteoric phenomenon.
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[87] The following is merely a single episode taken from a long and
otherwise uninteresting story. Miss Fêng-hsien was a fox; hence her
power to bestow such a singular present as the mirror here described,
the object of which was to incite her lover to success—the condition
of their future union.
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[88] Besides the all-important aspirate, this name is pronounced in a
different tone from the first-mentioned “Tung;” and is moreover
expressed in writing by a totally different character. To a Chinese
ear, the two words are as unlikely to be confounded as Brown and
Jones.
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[89] The Four Seas are supposed by the Chinese to bound the habitable
portions of the earth, which, by the way, they further believe to be
square. In the centre of all is China, extending far and wide in every
direction, the eye of the universe, the Middle Kingdom. Away at a
distance from her shores lie a number of small islands, wherein dwell
such barbarous nations as the English, French, Dutch, etc.
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[90] The commentator, I Shih-shih, adds a note to this story which
might be summed up in our own—
“The [wo]man that deliberates is lost.”
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[91] Buddhist priests not unusually increase the revenue of their
monastery by taking pupils; and it is only fair to them to add that
the curriculum is strictly secular, the boys learning precisely what
they would at an ordinary school and nothing else.
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[92] These consist simply of thin slips of wood dipped in brimstone,
and resemble those used in England as late as the first quarter of the
present century. They are said to have been invented by the people of
Hang-chou, the capital of Chekiang; but it is quite possible that the
hint may have first reached China from the west. They were called yin
kuang “bring light,” (cf. lucifer), fa chu “give forth
illumination,” and other names. Lucifer matches are now generally
spoken of as tzŭ lai huo “self-come fire,” and are almost
universally employed, except in remote parts where the flint and steel
still hold sway.
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[93] The whole point of the story hinges on this.
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[94] Beside which lived Hsi Shih, the famous beauty of the fifth
century after Christ.
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[95] I fear that the translation of this “Singing-girl’s Lament” falls
so considerably below the pathetic original as to give but a poor idea
of the real merit of the latter as a lyric gem.
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[96] The Chinese have precisely the same mania as our Browns, Joneses,
and Robinsons, for scribbling and carving their names and compositions
all over the available parts of any place of public resort. The
literature of inn walls alone would fill many ponderous tomes.
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[97] The examination, which lasts nine days, has been going on all
this time.
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[98] That is, his own body, into which Ch‘u’s spirit had temporarily
passed, his own occupying, meanwhile, the body of his friend.
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[99] That is, for being born again, the sole hope and ambition of a
disembodied shade.
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[100] See No. LXXI., note 48.
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[101] See No. LXI., note 346.
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[102] His own spirit in Ch‘u’s body had met her in a disembodied
state.
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[103] Such is the invariable custom. Large presents are usually made
by those who can afford the outlay, and the tutor’s name has ever
afterwards an honourable place in the family records.
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[104] See No. XLVIII., note 274.
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[105] The elaborate gilding and wood-work of an ordinary Chinese
temple form a very serious item in the expense of restoration. Public
subscriptions are usually the means employed for raising sufficient
funds, the names of subscribers and amount given by each being
published in some conspicuous position. Occasionally devout
priests—black swans, indeed, in China—shut themselves up in boxes
studded with nails, one of which they pull out every time a certain
donation is given, and there they remain until every nail is
withdrawn. But after all it is difficult to say whether they endure
these trials so much for the faith’s sake as for the funds from which
they derive more of the luxuries of life, and the temporary notoriety
gained by thus coming before the public. A Chinese proverb says, “The
image-maker doesn’t worship Buddha. He knows too much about the idol;”
and the application of this saying may safely be extended to the
majority of Buddhist priests in China.
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[106] This is the title generally applied to the Manchu commanders of
Manchu garrisons, who are stationed at certain of the most important
points of the Chinese Empire, and whose presence is intended as a
check upon the action of the civil authorities.
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[107] See No. VI., note 52.
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[108] The moral being, of course, that Buddha protects those who look
after his interests on earth.
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[109] It is related in the Family Sayings, an apocryphal work which
professes to give conversations of Confucius, that a number of
one-legged birds having suddenly appeared in Ch‘i, the Duke of Ch‘i
sent off to ask the Sage what was the meaning of this strange
phenomenon. Confucius replied, “The bird is the shang-yang, and
portends beneficial rain.” And formerly the boys and girls in Shantung
would hop about on one leg, crying, “The shang-yang has come;” after
which rain would be sure to follow.
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[110] Speaking in the unknown tongue, like the Irvingites and others.
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[111] This is a clever hit. The “personal” name of a man may not be
uttered except by his father or mother, grandfather, grandmother,
uncles, etc. Thus, the mere use of the personal name of the head of a
family proves conclusively that the spirit of someone of his
ancestors must be present.
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[112] I consider the whole of the above a curious story to be found in
a Chinese work exactly 200 years old, but no part of it more so than
the forcible removal of some part of the clothing, which has been so
prominent a feature in the séances of our own day. It may be added
that in many a court-yard in Peking will be found one or more trees,
which cause the view from the city wall to be very pleasing to the
eye, in spite of the filth and ruins which a closer inspection
reveals.
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[113] The arrangement being that of the hobby-horse of by-gone days.
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[114] The couches of the north of China are brick beds, heated by a
stove underneath, and covered with a mat. Upon one of these is
generally a dwarf table and a couple of pillows; and here it is that
the Chinaman loves to recline, his wine-kettle, opium-pipe, or teapot
within reach, and a friend at his side, with whom he may converse far
into the night.
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[115] See No. LXXIII., note 63. Chang Fei was the bosom-friend of the
last, and was his associate-commander in the wars of the Three
Kingdoms. Chou Kung was the first Emperor of the Chou dynasty, and a
pattern of wisdom and virtue. He is said by the Chinese to have
invented the mariner’s compass; but the legend will not bear
investigation.
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[116] Mr. Li had, doubtless, taken a “drop too much” before he started
on his mountain walk.
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[117] Of whom I can learn nothing.
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[118] The following extract from a long and otherwise tedious story
tells its own tale. Wang is the modest man, and the young man from
Yü-hang the braggart. Sung is merely a friend of Wang’s.
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[119] This is one of our author’s favourite shafts—a sneer at
examiners in general, and those who rejected him in particular.
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[120] This would be regarded as a very meritorious act by the Chinese.
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[121] The Byron of China.
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[122] Chinese wine—or, more correctly, spirits—is always taken
hot; hence the term wine-kettle, which frequently occurs in these
pages.
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[123] The Magistrate; who is supposed to be towards the people what a
father is to his children.
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[124] This singularly un-Chinese surname is employed to keep up a
certain play upon words which exists in the original, and which is
important to the dénouement of the story. “River” is the simple
translation of a name actually in use.
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[125] Chinese dice are the exact counterpart of our own, except that
the ace and the four are coloured red: the ace because the combination
of black and white would be unlucky, and the four because this number
once turned up in response to the call of an Emperor of the T‘ang
dynasty, who particularly wanted a four to win him the partie. All
letters, despatches, and such documents, have invariably something
red about them, this being the lucky colour, and to the Chinese,
emblematic of prosperity and joy.
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[126] Alluding to an ancient story of a promise by a Mr. Fan that he
would be at his friend Chang’s house that day three years. When the
time drew near, Chang’s mother ridiculed the notion of a man keeping a
three years’ appointment; but, acceding to her son’s instances,
prepared a boiled chicken, which was barely ready when Fan arrived to
eat of it.
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[127] Alluding to the celebrated oath of confederation sworn in the
peach garden between Kuan Yü, or Kuan Ti (see No. I., note 39), Chang
Fei (see No. LXIII., note 2), Liu Pei, who subsequently proclaimed
himself Emperor, A.D. 221, and Chu-ko Liang, his celebrated minister,
to whose sage counsels most of the success of the undertaking was due.
The whole story is one of the best known of Chinese historical
romances, bringing about, as it did, the downfall of the famous Han
dynasty, which had endured for over 400 years.
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