· h . price. 8c win e m e rch a n t 12que e n ’ s road, h on g k on g ‘o: — 80 i.e agents...
TRANSCRIPT
K R U S E
CQ N N A UG H T HOUS E .
H Q N QKON Q4
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e tc . ,e tc .
H . PRICE . 8c
WIN E M E RCH A N T
12Que e n’
s Road ,
H ON G K O N G‘O:
— 80 I.E AGENTS FOR
Moet Chandon ’s “Dry Imperial” Cham m g ne .
Ayala Co.
’
s Extra Qual ity , Extra Dry, Champagne .
Marquis d e l Merito Sherries .
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’
s Port.
Martel l ’s Brandies .
Danvil le ’s VR . Irish Whisky .
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Canadian Rye Whisky.
D. C. C . Old Tom Gin .
D . C. C. Dry Gin (unsweetened).
Bass Co.
’
s Ale , Boar ’s Head Bottling.
G uine ss’
s Stout, Boar’s Head Bott l ing .
“Yebisu,
” the favourite Beer of Japan.
Ge nuine Tansan,
” bottled by J . Clifford Wilkinson.
36“ It wil l give Messrs . PRICE CO. much pleasure
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A TR I PON TH E
T R I VE R .
G OIN G
(and)COM IN G .
B y R . D. TH OM A S .
PRE FACE .
towns onre l‘
ating some legend connected with various scenes
on the j ourney up and down the West River, I have often
been asked by numerous passengers and friends to put the
information conveyed to'the m
/
into print. With d iffid e nceI now place:the fol lowi ng pag e s before
,
the public with one
hope , that it may induce many to come and see this mag
nifice nt'
and important waterway . The Sai Kong is the thi rd
largest river in the E mpire and second only to the
Yangtse in importance . This magnificent trade route w as
kept strictly closed to foreign traffic by the Chinese Govern
1 89 7.
R. D . T .
20 0 51 25:
A TRIP UP TH E WE STRIVER
CANTON TOWUCHOWAND RE TU RN.
make this most enj oyable trip we leaveby one of the palatial river steam
Hongkong,Canton and Macao
Co . They start from a fine w harf
the Praya,about a five minutes j ourney in
H ote l . The steamer leaving (Saturday ex
cepte d)at half past five in the afternoon should
be selected ; she reaches Canton about six
o ’clock the next morning .
"We find it wel l worth whi le to be up and
d re ssed be fore the steamer reaches Canton , as
i t is a really marvellous sight,to watch the
vessel threading her way through the maze oflaunches
,passenger- boats
,j unks
,sampans
,
e tc ,which cover the river for some distance
before the vessel reaches her wharf.
After arriving we have a cup of coffee andsomething to eat , as we shal l not have break
fast unti l nine o ’clock .
S team ers.
2
Having had a good look at the native passe ng e rs crowding into the sampans alongside ,
we pack up our bags and engage a sampan totake us across to the West River steamer, lying some three hundred yards away , off the
foreign concession of Sham e e n.
These steamers are bui lt especially for the
trade. They are large stem -whee l or twin
screw steamers and draw only about three
feet nine inches ofwater. They have nice largeairy cabins and are lighted throughout withelectricity. They are capable of carrying ten
saloon passengers and about six hundred
Chinese . The latter are al l kept strictly to
thei r own part of the vessel .As the clock strikes eight the whistle blows
three times,the order is given to Let go
,
”
and we are away on our voyage . Going downthe Front Reach we pass the steamer that
brought us to Canton .
Immediately beyond are the flower-boats
with thei r blackwood tables and stools ihlaid with mother-of- pearl . They look very gorgeons when visited at night with thei r myriad
lamps alight and the many mirrors casting
thei r reflections back and forth,but now they
appear very shady and disreputable in the
bright sunlight .
The magnificent building,the French Ro
man Catholic Cathedral,rearing its twin
s’
pires far above al l the surrounding houses
next draws our attention .
This bui lding stands on the site whereCommissioner Yeh ’s Yamun formerly stood .
He w as the notorious offi cial sent down from
away the English and French when we
jointly attacked and captured Canton in 1 857.
He w as eventually captured by the Al l ies andsent. to Calcutta as a prisoner where be re
mained unti l the time of his death .
Our attention is now drawn to all those
large square towers not at all unl ike forts.
These we are told are pawnshops or, as theyshould more properly be called
,the banks or
safe deposits of South China. Pawning isdone there
,but the ir chief use is for stor
ing val uables,also unseasonable si lks and
furs for safe keeping,
fires and robbery beingve ry prevalent in al l Chinese cities . Thesebui ldings have no windows
,only small sl its in
the wal ls something l ike rifle -ports ; they are
very substantially bui lt and are almost fire and
burglar proof from the outside . Many of themhave large j ars ful l of vitriol on the roof which
the keepers throw down on the robbers whenthe bui ldings are attacked . Robbers have beenknown to se t fire to the neighboring houses in
the hope of the fire spreading to a pawnshop,but in almost every case the pawnshop has e s
Date/z Folly .
4
caped,whilst the houses have all been burnt
to the ground .
N ow we are passing Dutch Folly, so called
because of the conduct of the Dutch traders.
In the early days they obtained permission
to erect a hospital on the island for sick sai lors ;
they landed a quantity of medical comforts in
barrels and cases one of the barrels burst open
and a choice assortment of arms and am m uni
tion fel l out . The Chinese looking on ve ry
Wisely observed , What fools the Dutch must
be to attempt curing the sick with powder and
bullets .” The Chinese name is Hoi Chu Pau
Toi (Sea Pearl Fort). It i s a small island
and group of rocks standing in the middle of
the river. On the island is a very picturesque
bui lding,gaily decorated with flags and pro
te cte d by old- fashioned,muzzle- l oading can
non , the headquarters of the river police force .
Next we come to a number of large j unksengaged in the trade between this and Hong
kong,Macao
,Sui Tong and other places
,
many of them loaded nearly halfway up themast.
A large smoke stackand foreign bui ldinglooks rather incongruous amidst the surround
ing houses we are told i t is the electri c l ight
station which lights up the foreign settlement
and many of the yamuns and large houses in
the native city .
A nother smoke stack away far back in thecity belongs to the mint. This is a ChineseGovernment concern with a British expe rt at
the head of affai rs who has Spent almost a
word about money before
farther. The principal output of
subsidiary coinage,a few dollars
amount of copper cents . The
Chinese at a l ittle distance from Canton eagerly
take the last mentioned coin , in fact it is some
times at a premi um of Io They also l ike-i:he 20 cent pieces , but when it comes to the
1 0 Cent pieces they often refuse to take them .
They say ,
“We do not want the l ittle dragong ive us The devi l ’s head money ,
” meaning
a Hongkong ten cent piece , so called because
i t has the King or Queen’ s head impressed
Al l the gun- boats belonging to the Canton
squadron anchor in this reach they are al l
small vessels and are only intended for putting
down smuggling and piracy on the rivers and
close round the coast.
M oney .
G un-50 5m“.
i
The right bank is now one mass of Chinese S /zzp- éuzldzezg .
s’hip bui lding yards with many launches lying
here undergoing repairs,whilst others are to
be seen in various stages of construction .
Just below the city on the left bank i s alarge leper vi llage . Al l native craft passing
Lepers.
Barrie r.
6
through or entering Canton have to pay aLem r toll . ” If this is paid as soon as the
vessel reaches the port the head leper gives a
pass which franks the ship right through ;without this
,any of the numerous lepers are
able to demand a fee,which has to be paid ,
otherwise the ship would be surrounded by
these people and all work brought to a stand
still .
We are now approaching a very large fleet
of fine se a-going j unks al l ly ing at anchor.
We notice that they are al l armed with fairly
large cannon and enquire what trade theyengage in . We are told that they run down
empty to the salt pans on the south coast,where they fi l l up with salt
,w hich they bring
up to Canton,all of which is discharged here
and put into Specially built boats which carry i tup into the interior
,many of them taking from
two to six months on their voyage . Salt is
a government monopoly and i s al lowed to be
imported into China in j unks only. Nosteamer, native or foreign , or foreign sai ling
vessel is allowed to bring salt to China . If such
were allowed a ve ry large trade would no
doubt soon develop between Europe and
China . In the interior salt is almost a l uxury,
as there is a duty to be paid at every barrie rthat it passes in transit .
About twenty minutes to nine we keepclose over to the right bank and pass between
two be acons placed about one hundred and fifty
feet apart . This is the only channel,as the
remainder of the rive r is obstructe d by a
barr ier of sand and stones purposely put there
to keep out hosti le vessels in time of war.On the shore there is a fine old nine- storied
pag oda which inclines considerably from the
On the left bank about two hundred yardsbelow the barrier we se e a small temple , with
a peculiar square tower ; this i s where the
tr0 0 ps landed and marched into Canton , tak
ing it in the rear 1 857—8 . The Chinese did
not at al l l ike this and said that i t was veryunfai r and improper to come in backside ,
as they had very few guns pointing that way .
We are now passing tremendous vegetable
fields many acres in extent with fruit trees al l
along the banks and on any raised ground .
Perhaps i t may interest you to know thatCanton supplies nearly al l the vegetables forthe Hongkong market and that from fifty to
one hundred and fifty tons are sent down dailyby the river steamers alone .
About a mi le and a half above VVham poawe se e another fine Pagoda on the rightbank . This pagoda is about two hundred
and sixty-six feet high and is also of nine
stori e s . A l ittle farther on we se e a small
pagoda am idst some trees , and learn that it is
Veg e taéles
Pag odai
VV/tampoa.
Docking .
8
called a penci l pagoda,
so called because it
has been built by a successful student after his
examination for classical honours . Now manystudents go and chin-chin (worship)there , be
fore going in for an examination in the hOpe
of having the same Good Joss as the man
who erected it.
Whampoa is now in sight, but j ust before
we reach it we pass two small mud islands ,
one on either hand . These are cultivated by
the people generally and the proceeds are
spent in supplying the Vi l lagers with a theat
rical performance .
Whampoa is the old treaty port and in for
mer years from twenty to thi rty sail ing v e s
sels were often seen lying at anchor here .
When any of these vessels wanted to go into
dry- dock so that thei r bottoms could be
cleaned or repaired , a dock was cut in the
soft mud bank and the vesse l floated in at
high water ; a coffer-dam w as then bui lt across
the entrance and the bulk of the water allowed
to drain out as the tide fe ll , and the water that
remained was taken out by means of Chinese
chain- trough pumps , which are to be seen
every day in use i rrigating the fields .
There are two fine stone dry- docks here
now , these were bui lt by the Hongkong and
Whampoa Dock Co . and afte r wards sold to
the Chinese Government when ocean vesselsceased coming up the river to load .
9
Above or to the west of the docks is thetorpedo depot where you invariably se e one
or more of the boats ashore undergoing re
pairs and maybe a couple ' or so ready for
The old British Consulate stands on a hil l
almost hidden by trees . It now belongs to the
Imperial Maritime Customs and is used as a
hol iday resort or Sanitarium.
We pass the Custom House about a quarter past nine but do not stop as we have nopassengers to discharge or embark .
In the background we se e a ship ’s mast and
ask what it is for. We are told that it belongs
to the naval and military school built by ChangChih Tung when he w as the Vi ceroy of the
two Kwong,and that it is used to give stu
dents practical training in seamanship.
The approach to Whampoa from the se a is
ve ry wel l protected . A l l the hi l ls on eitherbank have forts bui lt on the top and are armed
with heavy quick- firing guns . We now pass
through another barrier which is l ucki lyclear of j unks, so that we do not have to
slacken our speed .
Away Up the creek to the left is a temple
dedicated to Marco Polo,the famous Italian
t ravel ler,and supposed to be the first Euro
pean to come to China. On the 1 3th day of
the second moon every year, thousands of peo
M arco Polo
E ntrance to
S toppag e at
1 0
ple go and worship there . According to theChinese idea that is the natal day of Joss
Pau Low.
We are now passing through very flat
country al l given over to the cultivation of
rice,having hills away in the distance . Here
you see rice not by the acre but by the
square mile .
A bout ten o ’clock we are abreast of a very
fine pagoda built on a hil l with a city of refuge
built by the side of it. This is called the
Second Bar Pagoda . On the next hi l l is a
smaller pagoda which from its architecture
and situation among the trees makes a very
pretty picture .
Continuing on for another hour,we arrive
at Forbe’
s Point. This is as far as we go back
towards Hongkong. We are able to se e the
steamers which left Canton with us at eight
o’
clock away over the paddy fie lds down by
Tig er Island . We now turn sharp round to
the right, leaving the Chu Kong or Pearl
River behind us , and enter that wonderfulnetwork of creeks , called the Delta , whichextends between the Chu Kong and the Sai
Kong or West River.
After going along the Sai Wan Channel forabout three and a half miles we come to an
other barrie r of stones,but here there is
nothing to mark the channel . Suddenly we
Duckform s.
12
gates with buttresses on either side and can
nons mounted thereon to protec t the entrance .
This is a very wealthy place i t has about adozen pawnshops
,which are a sure sign of
wealth when seen in any town .
Al l along’
this channel the banks are ccv
ered with banana palms,which serve to mark
off boundaries , and are at the same time a
source of income .
What is that moving mass on the shore
Ducks , I declare ! And that peculiar boat withgreat overhanging sides
,mak ing her about
three times her proper size, is their home .
These boats , or movable duck farms , sometimes carry over three thousand birds
,which
are kept unti l they are ready for the market .They move about the river and put the ducksashore to feed at different places
,thus se cur
ing fresh feeding ground whenever they wish.
The ducks are walked ashore every morningand men are placed as sentinels at different
places to prevent them from straying. They
are so well trained that often the m an has
only to cal l out if any begin to stray to makethem return . In the evening a bamboo gang
way is put down and the ducks are calledsomewhat after the style in which we coo
pigeons at home . They al l make a rush to
I 3
last half dozen or so get a thrashing for being
late . To se e them reminds one of the crush
ensues on a cry of fi re being raised in ang up the gangway and
pushing each other off in thei r haste not to be
amongst the last. Care is taken always to
keep some of the old ducks on board when a
About tiflin time we make a sharp rightangular turn to the south .
We have now reached the famous Canton
si lk district. But where are the mulberrytrees P There are none in sight. Instead ,‘
the' country is covered as far as the eye can
se e with small ri ch green shrubs . These , we
are told,are al l mulberry shoots . In this
part of the world it seems that better results
are obtained by allowing the mulberry toshoot up only in slender sticks
,which rarely
exceed seven feet in height. Therefore , as soonas the last cr0 p of silk is spun , which takes
place about the middle of November, labore rs at once cut down all the shrubs close to
the ground , being careful not to damage the
roots,and bind the sticks into bundles which
are used as fuel . After this’ i s finished a
three- inch layer of river mud , taken from the
banks at low water, is spread over the roots
14
and adjacent soi l . This alluvial soi l is said to
be one of the best ferti l izers that it is possible
to procure . The young shoots come up
during the month of February , and at that
time the old stumps are literally covered with
fruit which,however
,is rather poor and has
a most insipid flavor,nothing like the l us
cious fruit we have in the old country . The
land on which the mulberry is grown hasnumerous irrigation ditches running through
it,and owing to the accumulated layers of
river mud is sl ightly higher than the adj acent
rice fie lds . Large ponds are also dug,in
which fish are reared . This enables the mul
berry roots to obtain plenty of moisture with
out actually soaking in the water . Al l peoplegrowing mulberry trees are not necessari ly
silk-worm farmers . In many instances they
cultivate the shrub only to sel l the leaves,
which they take to various market placeswhere the rearers and breeders of si lk-worms
go and purchase them .
In this distri ct there are seven crops of si lk
every year. The first of these commences in
A pri l , and the last is during the latter part of
October and beginning of November.
Silk-worms are hatched out of small,pale
grey eggs , about the size of a grain of mustard
seed . These eggs are usual ly aflixe d to large
I S
sheets of coarse paper. When the farmer
wishes to hatch them out he takes as many ashe requires for the crop and pours warm w a
ter over them,thus heating them simultane
ously , causing al l the worms to be hatched
toge ther ; otherwise he would lose a great
d eal of money . When the worm first appears
it is black in color and about a sixteenth of
an inch long with the breadth of a piece of
sewing thread . The m e n in charge of these
young worms cut up the mulberry leaves as
fine as tobacco before giving them to these
tiny creatures,and renew the supply at least
every hour. As they grow the leaves aregiven to them in larger pieces
,and they are
fed less often but in larger quantities. The
si lk-worm takes about twenty- eight days to
develop fully . During this time it sleeps
four times,for a period of from twenty- four to
forty- eight hours each time . These sleeps
usually occur on the fourth o r fifth day , ninth
or tenth,
fifteenth or sixteenth,and the last
about the twenty- second day . During each
of these periods of s leep it casts its skin and
many of the Worms die in consequence of be
ing unable to free themselves from thei r old
skins. When they are fully grown they are
of a whitish yellow color,about two inches
long and as thick as a lead penci l . They are
1 6
then placed on a frame , the interior of which
is fil led with twisted bamboo , and here theySpin the si lk from their mouths unti l theyhave completely enveloped themselves in acocoon
.They then again shed their skin and
eventual ly turn into chrysal ises . It takesabout six days for the worm to pe rform this
task . Now al l the cocoons that are requiredfor silk are placed over a charcoal brazier to
ki l l the chrysalises,which would otherwise
shortly pierce the cocoon and spoi l i t. Wo
men and young girls now take the cocoons
to wind off the silk ; before starting to do
which,they place the cocoons in boil ing wa
ter to moisten the gum , using' from six t o
eighteen cocoons to the single thread,accord
ing to the fineness of the si lk requi red . The
cocoons that are left to continue the species
are kept in a dry place,and after about three
weeks the moths come out. They free them
selves by first ej ecting a fluid which dissolve s
one end of the cocoon . The moths are ful ly
developed when they emerge . The males and
females are put together for one day,after
which the male s are removed,and the females
then commence to lay their e ggs on sheetsof coarse paper placed there for that purpose .
These pieces of paper are then taken away,
rolled up , and kept in a cool place unti l re
quired for the next year ’s crop .
17
Just as we finish tiffin the ship makes an
other sharp turn,this time to the west again .
Wye now pass through a very narrow channel
about one hundred and twenty yards wide .
Both banks are swarming with native children
who thoroughly enj oy yelling at us w ith all
r first stopping place,Yung Ki
,i s
about a quarter past two . This is a”very busy and important town . Two steam
silk-filature s have been erected here and theyare kept busy al l the time .
Two miles farther on is Kwai Chow ; but
al though a larg er and even more important
place than Yung , Ki we do not stop, as itstands some what back from the rive r. Hereis to be seen a little Roman Catholic Church
bui lt after the same style as the Canton Ca
The creek is now very tortuous in fact ,
so much so that we see the Tai Leung Pagoda
in different places all round the ship before
we final ly lose sight of i t about three o ’clock .
N ow we are approaching Mah Ning , another town of some importance , standing at
the foot of some rathe r fine hi l ls . We stop
here and embark a fe w passengers, who come
alongside in such a smal l , rickety boat that
we expect to see them all capsized into the
W’eslw ara
’.
aoout.
1 8
river as they cross the bow-wave of the
steamer.
A ll the hi lls we pass j ust now are simply
covered w i th graves ; in fact , there seems to
be no room for any more . According to theChinese idea
,the ideal spot to be . buried is on
the side of a hil l facing running water. With
regard to the superstition attaching to the
importance of burying a parent in a congenial
spot,many of the native priests are able to
make a very fine thing out of the proceeds
obtained for locating propitious sites . For
instance,a family are unfortunate in business
they go and tell a priest about thei r m isfor
tunes ; very like ly he wi ll say that one of
thei r relatives is not buried in a congenial
spot and that his spi ri t is unable to rest ;therefore , it is roaming around and giving
them bad j oss . After a little talk he wil lmost l ikely propose that another spot should
be chosen and offers to consult the gods with
regard to their wishes . The family agree to
this , the priest goes away and fixes on a new
site , for which an exorbitant price is often
asked by the owner. I have heard of a site
for which two thousand five. hundred dol lars
was paid . After all the preliminaries havebeen arranged the coffin is taken up out of its
present resting place and once more buried in
Kum Chat .
20
parted . Or the inscription may tell of a
maiden,whose betrothed died before they
were married,and who came to fi l l her posi tion
as daughter- ia- law in his parents ’ house ,
continuing there in vi rgin widow hood until the
time of her death . Many of these solid
marks of popular approbation commemoratesuicides ; as for instance when a woman pre
fers death to dishonor, or when a betrothed
maiden resolves to follow her bridegroomelect into the spirit world .
Before arriving at the Custom ’s station we
pass the Kum Chuk rapids ; here we se e the
water tearing down-hil l at a frightful rate,
breaking wildly ove r the rocks that obstruct
its passage,and making indeed a ve ry fine
sight . These rapids are caused by the w ater
falling in the Delta much faster than it is able
to flow in from the West Rive r throug h this
narrow creek .
’
Every native craft passing
ove r these rapids chin- chins ; that is, mak e s
a propitiatory offering to the part icular de vi l
who is supposed to reside here . Launches
blow thei r whistles three times ; other craft
offer burning pape r,letters
, e tc
This is a port of cal l,
” and steamers are
al lowed to load and discharge both passe né
gers and cargo at such place s . About halfpast four we anchor off the Custom House
and a smart g ig comes across to the steamer
wi th a European offi cer in charge and some
2!
native watchers to search the Chinese pas
se agers,and als o to se e that no cargo is taken
‘on board unle ss the duty has been paid on it .
The re be ing no cargo and only about thirty
passengers,we remain here only about a
quarte r of an hour and then proceed
The scenery now is very different to w hatw e ha ve be en passing al l day . Heretofore it
occasi onal h‘
i l l here and there in the distance .
N ow we have nice plains with hi'l ls galore
and fine ranges of mountains away in the
Abou t twenty minutes afte r l e aving KumChuk we stop at Kau Kong (Nine Streams)toembark a fe w more passengers . This is a
ve ry wealthy place and many merchants who
have m ade their fortunes in A merica or A us
tralia have reti red and live here . It stretches
along the river bank for three or four , miles .
One of the pecul iar things that now draw
our attent i on is the numbe r of poles , some ~
thing lik e ships'm asts w i th square platform s
on the m, standing in front of the large r bui ld
ing s , alw ays in pairs . These we learn are
what might be cal led l iterary poles ” and
show the classi cal degree obtained by some
me m be r of the fam i ly . They are only al
lowed to be erected outside the ancestral hall
belonging to the family and not outside one’s
ow n private house . They are never renewed
S ce rze fy .
Ku You .
Tum S z e .
22
after once they have been erected , but are al
lowed to decay and fall down unless some
other member of the family passes the requi
site degree,when new poles are e rected in his
bonoua
A. The examination which entitles a man
to erect these poles is held triennially in al l
the provincial cities throughout the Empire ,on the ninth
,twelfth and fifteenth days of the
eighth month,and is called the Ku Yan (Pro
moted Men); it is the equivalent to our M . A'
.
In Canton from twelve to fourteen thousandSau Tsoi or B . A . enter for this examination
every time it is held,and the number passing
rarely exceeds one hundred and twenty .
Throughout the whole Empire there are sup
posed to be from thirteen to fourteen hundred
who pass this examination every three years .
B. After passing the former examinationa man may enter for the Tsun Sze (EnteredScholars), LL D . For this he must go up
to Peking and it is conferred triennial ly upon
the successful licentiates,only the Ku Yan
being eligible as candidates . It invariably
takes place on the sixth day of the third
month of the following year,and is presided
over by a high Minister of State,one of the
Royal Princes,and three other examiners .
It is estimated that about two hundred pass
each time . The Doctors are introduced to
the Emperor and do him reverence,the three
23
hig hest receiv ing rewards from him. The
successful candidates do not return to thei r
hom es , but remain at Peking in order to at
tend the examination for the fourth degree
which is held short ly afterwards .
C . The right to erect these poles be longs‘only to the men who hav e passed the fourth
and highest degree , called Hon Lum (Forest
of Pencils .) This is more an ofl‘ice than a de
gre e , as those who attain it are admitted mem
be rs of the Hon Lum College and receive sal
aries . They also become either members of
the Inner Council,obtain si tuations on the
Se ven Boards or as District Rulers , and are
deputed to act as Chancel lors and Examiners
in the various Provinces The triennial ex
amination for this degree is conducted in the
Imperial Palace at Peking , in the presence of
the Emperor himself. The number passing
this examination is variously stated to be
from fourteen to forty .
The highest graduate on the list i s cal led
Chong Yuen (or Senior Wrangler)and is re
garded as the greatest scholar of the whole
world . His fame spreads throughout the
Empire,and many people in all classes of so
cie ty make it a point of becoming acquainted
with the particulars of his early training and
parentage . The newly made Hon Lum are
entertained at dinner by the Emperor,which
is regarded as a very great honour to learn
Sou 73 0 i .
24
ing.One pe cul iari ty about the man who at
tains the much coveted ti tle of Chong Yuen
is that he is invariably a mill ionaire or else a
Manchu .
Before a man is allowed to enter for any of
the above degrees he must first have passe d a
series of examinations which are held in all
the principal district cities in the various
provinces tw ice d uring every three years .
These are usually four in number and are
conducted by the d istrictErule rs, the prefects ,and the literary chancellor . Before going up
for examination the candidates repai r to the i r
prefectural cities and deposit a document
signed by two or more graduates,stating that
they are fre e bom subj ects of the realm and
that they are not the chi ldren of boatmen,
play-actors , policemen , pawn- brokers,etc .
,
who are prohibited from entering for any ex
amination .
If the candidate passe s all these examina
tions he is given the degree of San Tsoi
(Flowering Talent). This is usually known
as the B. A . degree . The number entering
for this degree is very large,many thousands
presenting themselves every time,and the
numbe r passing is reckoned to be less than
one per cent , which explains how one m ay
se e men of seventy years of age and U pwards
sti ll trying to matriculate . Cases have be en
known where father, son , and grandson have
25
been sitting for the same degree together.
A and B are painted a plain red C is also
red g round work with wreaths of flowers
twining their w ay right up to the top .
With regard to the gourd- shaped ornaments
w ith which the t0 ps of the poles are deco
rate d,if the owner has no official rank they
are white if he is a civi l official they are red ;Wh
'
i le,should he hold military rank , they
On the west bank a little w ay above Kau
Kong we notice a small town standing by it
self oh a plain , with high hills away at the
back . This is K u Lo,and a very fine quality
of tea is grown on these hi lls which is known
as Ku Lo tea,large quantities of which are
se nt down to Macao and there blended before
being exported to Europe and America .
Continuing up the ri ver,which is over a
mile wide,we pass the ruins of what had once
been a fine pagoda,only five stories of which
are now standing.
About a quarter past six we are abreast ofTit Ngau Kok (Iron Buffalo Corner). Thec 'ou‘
ntry we have j ust passed , for several miles ,is be low the level of the river , and formerly
w as flooded every time the freshets came
down during the summer months . To obvi
ate this a large and strong embankment was
built many miles in length . A fter it was fin
Colour of
Ornam ents.
Ruins.
Sam 6 720 1 0 .
Teu'
Ping
Taz'
E ng .
boats fie ld up.
26
ishe d the people sent to Fat Shan , The Bir
m ing ham of South China ,” and obtained two
life—sized buffalo calves cast of iron . These
two calves were then placed on this corner
with all due ceremony , consisting of music ,
feasting , crackers , theatricals , etc . Since
which time the country behind has never bee n
flooded the embankment has nothing
whatever to do with this and al l the kudos is
given to the e fli cie ncy of the iron buffaloes .
On the other bank,situated on a small hi ll ,
stands the Sam Chow pagoda which is visible
for many miles.
A large mud island situated in the middle of
the river and given over wholly to the cul ti
vation of sugar cane is passed on our left hand
A large shallow patch running well out into
the river off the upper end causes us to give
it a wide berth to avoid running aground .
Opposite on the right hand is a small vi l
lage cal led Tai Ping , and j ust above it in [ 89 9twenty- one large salt-boats
,each with a crew
of at least thi rty men— say about s ix hundred
and fifty men altogether— were held up by
so- called pi rates who refuse d to allow them
to pass a given point unless they paid a large
tribute . The captain of H . M . S . Sandpipe r ,”
hearing about it, proceeded at once to the
spot , but by the time he arrived the so cal led
28
though of considerable length , is practically
unnavigable for about nine months every year.
Gradual ly bearing away to the right, we very
soon let go the anchor and make fast to the
Company ’s pontoon . Here we find that there
is some cargo to come on board which will
detain us for about two hours .
The vesse l is by this time surrounded withsmall boats
,selling food of almost every de
scription— dried rats,ten-year- old ducks ’ eggs
,
ginger,cakes
,melon- seed
,wine
,fruit
,and hot
soup . The latter is sold by itself,boats sell
ing it having nothing else on board,as it e n
tai ls having such a lot of impedimenta . First
there is a fire on which is boiling a j ar full of
rice and water. Then on little dishes ranged
along one side of the boat are various delica
cies , besides which the re are the bowls
in which the soup is served . A m an
orders a bowl of soup first the salesman dips
the bowl in the river to wash it ; then he
takes a little chopped onion,a dried shrimp
or two , a fe w pieces of almond , also a little
finely chopped carrot , turnip and ginger ; to
this is added a little fresh fish . Al l thesethings are raw . The bowl is then fi l led up
with the boil ing rice water and a few drops of
soy , with a sprink le of salt added to bring outthe flavour. This seems to be a favourite
dish , as we notice that a brisk trade is carriedon the whole time we remain here
.
29
Sam Shui is a small walled city standing
about half a mile back from the river ; the
lar vindustry carried on here . In fact , i t would
be of very little importance at al l but for itsposition,
‘ standing as it does at the mouth of
and j ust above the large and
facturing town of Sai Nam .
stretching right across the river
about two miles below Sam Shui makes it im
possible for any but the shal lowest draft boats
to reach Sai Nam . The refore all goods ex
ported or imported e ither to Sai Nam orplaces up the North River have to be transshippe d here , making this a fai rly large port
of transshipment .
A lthough w e have come a long way round
to reach this port,about ninety-seven m i les ,
we are only some twenty- three miles as the
crow fl ies from Canton .
Be tween half past ten and eleven,the cargo
being al l on board , the anchor is taken up and
we go out the same way we came in,and
continue our trip up the West River.
Directly opposite the entrance there is a
very fine range of hi lls look ing very muchlike the back of a gigantic crocodile . Thecountry to the right is somewhat flatter than
it has been and we learn that there is a vast
plain stretching between this and the NorthRiver.
River
30
Shortly before one o ’clock the captain
knocks at the door of our cabin and tells us
to come out on deck as we are j ust entering
the famous Shi u Hing Gorge . The moon has
by this time set and all that we are able to
see is a dense black mass ahead , but we stand
here spellbound and amazed,wondering how
we are going to pass through ; gradually we
se e the hi l ls reflected on either side by our
electric light and putting our heads out from
beneath the awning,we note that the sky i s
visible only overhead ; after waiting about
ten minutes or so,we see a narrow stretch of
water between the hi lls right ahead,and learn
that the reason why we could see nothing
before was because there is a slight turn in
the gorge and unti l the other opening is
disclosed there is nothing to be seen but a
mighty blackness .
Having seen the ship safely through,we
return to bed and sleep unti l the steward
brings us coffee in the morning .
On looking out of the cabin door we wonder for a minute where we are
, as the scenery
is so different to our expectations . An American says , Well , I guess this beats the H ud
Our Continen
tal friends remark that it reminds them of“the Rhine and Switzerland .
” Whilst we
say , Surely the lake district or the Scottish
moors , but with a little less vegetation .
”
son River,our show place . ’
3 1
About seven o ’clock we stop at Luk To(Six Knives)to land a few passengers . This
is a marke t town of some importance , very
pretti ly situated , hills surrounding it on three
sides , with the river flowing in front.
He re one is struck with the wonderful colout ing of the hi l ls , a very bright red , shading
away to the palest pink or merging into arich yellow , whilst the vegetation on them
With its numerous shades of green make such
a picture as would b e almost impossible to
portrays. Five miles farther on we pass a
beautiful bamboo grove on our left,in which
pheasants and other game are to be found
during the Winter months . Steaming along
through this be autiful scenery , with constant
changes as we open out every new reach,we
Whi le away the time very pleasantly watching
this moving panorama .
About breakfast t ime we see a very fine
nine- storied pagoda on the river bank , w ith a
curious old metal ornament on the top that
has fallen over somewhat out of the pe rpe n
d icular. Small shrubs and plants are growing
on every proj ection , giving it a very quaint
appearance . This pagoda is placed in an ideal
geomantic spot,as it is by the side of running
water and facing running water , being exactlyopposite a small river that empties itself into
w ealthand
32
this one . These pagodas are bui lt to propi
tiste the god of the wind ” and the god of
the water. Because of them , the Chinese say ,
the winds will not be too violent and destroy
al l the crops,etc .
,and the river wil l not rise
too high and sweep eve rything before it.
Immediately below the pagoda is a little joss
house with Gothic windows , a thing very
rarely seen in these parts .
Tak Hing Chow is now in sight. This is
by far the largest and most important city in
this part of the province . It became a walled
city in the reign of the Emperor Hung Mo ,
some five hundred years ago , and many of
the gentry trace the coming of thei r ancestors
here back some two hundred years previous
to this,but they are unable to tell the reason
for the migration . During the Tai Ping Re
bellion the place was occupied for about seven
months , but the occupation was little more
than the rule of a robber chief,j udging from
present accounts . At present it i s under thecontrol of an official cal led a Chow (this is a
grade j ust below that of Prefect)who is responsible for the good government of a dis
triet within a radius of about thi rty miles,
containing nearly one hundred thousand in
habitants .
Three large pawnshops which stand in the
ci ty would indicate a supporting population of
33’
some thing l ike twenty- fiv e thousand,but there
are probably not more than half that number
residing in the city j ust now .
The country immediately adj acent to thecity is rather barren
,but it is the shipping
The principal industries are si lk,rice and
g roundnut culture , some manufacturing of
matting (Chinese bed-mats), also bamboo hats
There are fifteen temples in the city , the
most interesting one being a Confucian temple
situated in the southeast corner. Five
thousand dollars have been subscribed to
repair it . Hard-wood pil lars,which have
stood for three hundred years , are now being
replaced with soft China pine . In architectural
desig n these temples are exactly the same all
over the Empire ; the whole structure is
painted a dull red,the entrance having a centre
and two side gates . At either side of thistr iple gateway there is a granite slab bearing
this inscription : “Al l officials,civi l or mi li
ta ry,must get off their horses . ” U pon entering
we se e an artificial pond spanned by a pretty
little bridge of three arches ; at the end of
this courtvard there is a covered triple
g ateway ; passing through this , one sees the
altar in honour of Confucius standing at the
N ew temple to
appease M e
7
lost idol .
a
34
opposite end of the quadrangle,suspended
above which is a large red tablet bearing the
name of the sage in large gi lded characters .
Except in a few isolated cases no idols are to
be found in any of these temples .
A new Buddhist temple is proj ected and
will soon be under way . It seems that an old
temple formerly stood to the north of the
city. It was allowed to fal l in ruins and the
si te is no longer visible . Some geomancer
discovered that the floods and crop fai lures of
last year, 1 9 0 2, were due to the neglect ofthe idol which formerly occupied the temple
and which has come back (it is claimed)to
the old site and manifests i ts presence in
various ways . Some people actual ly claim to
have seen it and declare that it assumes the
form of a woman . In the early spring,
thousands of dollars were spent in processions,
always headed by a dragon,in honour of the
idol . Vi l lages and cities forty miles distant,
sent processions , and not infrequently these
processions would number over a thousand
people . The money for these processions
and some ten thousand taels to bui ld the
temple w as subscribed in times of unusual
scarcity , though part of it at least was givenunder threats and through barefaced e xtor
tion . Women went round to collect thi s
money ; and they asked every man for acertain sum based on what they knew the
TatLzlé Ska”.
Veg e tation.
36
in thi rty or forty feet and fired a volley . A s
their guns were loaded with nai ls , slugs , sm all
stones,etc .
,they made some sixty holes in
his hide and fortunately ki lled him instantly .
He was a full—grown male and a fine specimen .
By means of a pit trap the same hunters
caught another male tig er which weighed
nearly four hundred pounds .
Two miles above Tak Hing we pass through
a very pretty little gorge “and we see the
mountain Tai Lik Shan,about four thousand
feet high,away in the background , which is
by far the highest mountain in this district.
We notice large patches on the hi l lsi des
under cultivation and learn that there is a va
rie ty of sweet potato grown which requires
very little water,and is therefore a very prof
itable th ing to raise on what would otherwise
remain simply waste ground . The hil ls in
many places are fairly well covered with trees
which have been denuded of al l their lower
branches , which are cut off as soon as they
are of any appreciable size and sold,there be
ing a large demand for them as fuel for burn
ing lime and bricks . These branches are tied
up in bundles and slid down the hil lsides by
means of the shoots that we see running down
the hil ls , many of them from the crest to the
water’
s edge . They are then put into boats
37
whi ch , when fully loaded , present the appear
ance ofhuge floating hay- stacks .
About noon we sight a most peculiar mon M onk’
sH eaa’.
olith rising some fou rteen hundred and ten
feet from the bed of the river,called by the
Chinese Wa Piu (Elegant Column), named on
the chart Fa Pew (Flowery Tablet) but more
commonly known as the Monk’s Head . As
you approach , i t presents the appearance of a
gigantic buddha with a spectral- looking face,
standing erect,gazing over the surrounding
country . When abreast of the rock its pro
portions are very striking,and as you leave
it behind it assumes the appearance of a g i
g antic crouched figure with the head lifted up .
Just before one o ’clock we arrive at Do
Shi‘ng (ChiefCity). This is by far the largestand most important town on the right bank ofthe river. Here is he ld the principal cattlemarket in this part of the province and largeherds that have been brought down from
Kwang Si for sale may be seen here during
the greater part of the year . A ge neral market is held here al l the year
‘
round on the
fifth,tenth
,fifteenth
,twentieth
,twenty- fifth
and thi rtieth day of each moon,when people
gather from the surrounding vi l lages to buy
or sell al l manner of produce .
Every ten years a very large j oss pidgin
and theatrical performance,in honour of the
god Pak Tai,is held here
,which lasts for
Pak 721i
ar mrés.
38
three days and costs the people from fifteen to
twenty thousand dollars . This money is
raised by subscriptions during the inte rvals.Theatres are built along the foreshore and
outside the principal temples , really wonder
ful structures of b amboo and matting , giving
the shore somewhat the appearance of a street
in Old London or Paris as seen at an e xhi
bition.
Pak Tai,the god of the North
,is regarded
by the Chinese as the most be ne ficent of dei
ties,and his temples are general ly crowded
with votaries . People about to embark in
trade seek his blessing,and if the business
should prove successful they present a tablet
on which are gilded characters expressing
their gratitude . Partners draw up a declara
tion of their business at the close of each year.
This d eclaration is then taken to one of his
temples and read aloud afterwards it is bur nt
so that it shall be conveyed to the god and
registered . Masters and servants ratify thei r
engagements there , and it is also used for
taking oathsfand obligations . Especially if a
man 18 charged with theft and declares that
he is innocent, he is taken before the idol and
asked if he declare his innocence in its pres
ence . If he does so,his accuser is generally
satisfied .
Al l along the shelving banks where theriver deposits a quantity of si lt every time it
39
rises,w e notice that the people have neatly
planted patches of vegetables and other cropsne arly ripe . It is to be hoped they will be
able to harvest them before the river rises,or
e lse their labor wi ll al l have been in vain .
The scenery along the reach above Do
Shing is simply perfect. The hil ls on our left
are thickly covered with vegetation ; whilst
on the right the vivid colouring of the land
s’
l'
ips , and the hi l ls generally , i s such that no
artist dare put on canvas .
Away ahead the river banks meet in such amanner as to make it appear a perfect lake
,
and it is absolutely impossible to tell which
way the vessel is going to turn unti l we reach
Fong Chuen,a small walled city on our right
,
and said to be one of the oldest walled towns
in the province. We do not st0 p here , as
per-mission has not been granted , although
the place seems to be quite an important l ittle
town .
A small river,the Ho Yuen , flows into the
West River a few miles farther up . At someprevious time there w as a fairly large fort at
the mouth of this tributary,but now it has
quite disappeared and there only remain
some guns halfway down the bank with thei r
muzzles protruding,the remainder be ing bur
ie d under some thirty odd feet of soi l .We now ente r the Wuchow reach . The
river here is about three-quarters of a mile
S cene ry .
H o Yuenana’
Buried Fort.
4 0
wide and has a fine sweep . About four o ’
clock
we pass the last salt barrier in the KwangTung Province
,and we then enter the Prov
ince of Kwang Si .
Looming up in the distance is to be seen
the Wuchow Peak,about fourteen hundred
feet high and to the right of it is to be seen
one of the cities of refuge that were bui lt for
the women and chi ldren to retreat to during
the turb ulent times in the olden days . These
places were much used all over the country
during the time of the Tai Ping rebe llion .
A pagoda on the opposite side of the river
to Wuchow,
“in which a light is kept burn
ing,durin g the time of the triennial examina
tions held in Peking,to give good j oss to the
students from Kwang Si,
” now comes into
v i ew,and shortly afterwards we see the Brit
ish consulate and a large mission house,both
bui lt on the top of a hi l l above the city.
A small rocky island,Kai Lung Chow
(Chicken Basket Island), with a j oss- house on
the summit and connected by a sand bank
with a smaller rock,is passed j ust before
reaching the city . The Chine se say that a
farm er was crossing the river one day with a
boat load of chickens for the market. When
in the middle his boat was capsized and a
basket with a chicken inside drifted down
stream and sank to the bottom . Shortly af
te rw ards this island appeared,and a small
4 1
j oss- house was built thereon to appease the
manes of the lost chicken , Which was one of
a pe cul iar breed that the Chinese use at fu
Certain of the gentry and scholars aver that
the island should be called Hai Lung Chow
(Bound Dragon Island). Their legend is as
follows A dragon,thrusting i ts head through
the su rface many years ago , the people quick
ly bound it with chains , as for a dragon to
visit a city is the l uckiest thing possible .
Whilst the dragon was bound,the men of
Kw ang.
Si became very wealthy and passed al l
the examinations for which they entered . A f
te rw ards, when the dragon had disappeared , Iknow not how
,the people bui lt a small tem
ple on the summit of the island with the whole
of the west end open,so that all the wealth
flowing down the river from the interior of
the province should be caught there . The
people of Kwang Tung not liking this,dug a
subterranean passage at the back or east side
of the island to enable this wealth to flow
through to Canton . A long dispute then e nsued between the people of the two provinces ,
which was eventually brought to an end byclosing up the passage
, as it was decided that
the island,being in Kwang Si
,the natives of
that province had a perfect right to take what
A not/fe r
Custom s.
42
ever measures they thought fit to conserve
their own wealth .
The river here is about a mi le and a quar
ter wide,which
,with the shipping and other
life,forms a very pretty picture . Wuchow is
well situated,standing as it does at the con
flue nce. of the E u Ho or Cassia River and theWest River
,very much like the city of Han
Kow on the Yang tse , only that here there is
no large city on the other side . The city
wall runs up to the brow of a hill , and right
at the top is bui lt the powder magazine . The
city presents a rather imposing aspect from
the river,and the banks are enlivened by the
host of native boats packed along the fore
shore and up the Fu Ho .
There is a peculiarly shaped boat here that
at once attracts attention . It has deep bulg
ing sides with very narrow upper-works,and
when seen end on presents somewhat the ap
pe arance of a gigantic duck . They are built
in this manner to evade the customs,as when
loaded it is very difficult for the ofiice rs to as
certain how much cargo there is on board .
This i s of course well known,but it is winked
at and allows of a number of squeezes be ing
introduced on both sides .
The city , which has a population of from
fifty to sixty thousand is fairly well bui lt in
the business part and shows indications of
44
three feet . That is to say , in A pri l the river
stood at two feet one inch below zero and in
July it was seventy-one feet above zero
Many of the houses were completely under
water,and the people were obliged to camp
out on the hi lls . In almost all the houses in
the lower part of the city the water w as up tothe eaves and the inmates were l iving on the
roof,on which there is a large platform spe
cially built that it m ay be ready when re
quired .
Picturesque Immediately below the steamer wharf there
Ola’G atew ay . is a temple of somewhat more pre te ntious to
architecture than the rest of these structures
here usually display . In front of it is a rather
striking triple gateway,and the stucco- w ork
with which it is covered is really very fine,a
photo of which wel l repays one for the trouble
of taking.
To-morrow being Sunday , we shal l have'
plenty of time to do the sights we therefore
go round to the club and spend a very j olly
evening with the foreign community. Here
they have a first- class bil liard table and every
thing in the way of drinks that man could
desire .
We leave the ship at half—past six on Sun
day morning and climb to the top of Wuchow
Peak before the sun becomes too powerful .
It is a most delightful walk in the early m om
45
m g and there is a road leading right up to
the summit . About one hundred yards before we arrive there we pass two very fine
graves,said to contain the remains of a man
darji‘n and his wife . The View obtain e d from
li e re i s very fine indeed,giving one a good
ide a of the surrounding country , which amply
repays us for the climb . Away to the northw e se e the Fu Ho wind ing its course through
the hil ls,with vast tracts of plain at their fe e t
,
al l under cultivation . To t he east and w est
the Sai Kong stretches away unti l i t i s lost
among the surrounding hil ls . On the south
we see large plains intersected by fine ranges
of mountains .
A strol l through the walled city during theforenoon shows many places of interest ; al~
though it is evident that nearly al l the busi
ness of the place is conducted outside the
gates . This we hear is the general thing in
almost al l Chinese cities nowadays .
One of the most interesting bui ldings is a
rather fine old Buddhist temple with al l the
different torments of the ten Buddhist hells
fully depicted,and more repulsive chambers
of horror it would be impossible to conceive .
The penalties assigned for every form of sin
are here exemplified by groups of clay fig
ures,supposed to be human culprits under
going e v e ry'
kind of torture which the ingenu
ity of fiends could devise . The awfulness of
Budd/ mt
G ood -by e ,
Bam ooo.
46
the penalties is considerably detracted from,
as many of the figures are in a most d ilapid
ated condition and are covered with the dust
and filth of years . There are many other
temples here,but the sameness about them
all soon palls on one .
The principal industries of the place seem
to be curing and tanning hides , dyeing cotton
cloth,manufacturing old - fashioned arms
,and
boat bui lding . This is principal ly a port of
transshipment , and standing as it does at the
head of steamer navigation,although a few
small launches run one hundred and fifty miles
farther up with passengers,a vast amount of
produce passes through both ways . The
principal exports are timber,
firewood,cassia
,
raw sugar,tobacco
,hides
,star annise e d
,na
tive opium , and cattle . The imports are for
e ig n goods of all kinds and native m anufac
ture d articles mainly from Canton and Fat
Shan .
A t eight o ’clock Monday morning we lift
the anchor and start on our return voyage,
with li ttle cargo but quite a number of Chi
nese passengers . A fter clearing the city the
right bank of the river is one beautiful bam
boo grove over e leven miles in length,stretch
ing from the river to the foot of the hi lls in
the rear . U p here the bamboo grows luxuri
antly and in rich , feathery masses unknown
in Hongkong or Canton . It is here regarded
47
as an art i cle of commerce and large quantities
are sent down river lashed outside the fire
wood boats,enabling them to carry almost as
m u-e h again as they usual ly carry in the boat
Another thing that attracts attention is thenumber
‘of enormous rafts we pass drifting
down river with a regular little vil lage bui lt on
them,some of which consist of as many as a
doze n huts in which the crew and guard live“whi lst en route . These rafts drift down with
the current and are steered by dropping an
anchor whenever they requi re to alter thei r
course . We pass Fong Chuen,looking very
pretty in the morning sunlight,and at half
past ten,or thereabout
,stop at Do Shing to
take on board a few more passengers .
Two miles farther on we pass the large
Liken station of E u Yung . Here we see a
sampan that has been cut in half and erected
on the bank in the form of a monume nt,with
large white characters painted thereon,saying
that the owners were caught in an act of pira
cy and beheaded . This is put up to act as a
warning to other evi l-doers that such may be
their fate . We think the scenery from here
on is seen to greater advantage on this down
ward trip,and the camera i s in constant re
quest.
About noon we anchor off Tak Hing andtake on board a large quantity of the most
Lim e Ki/us.
Yue t 51m g .
48
beautiful straw matting,all colours and de
signs that it is possible to imagine . This
matting is not made here but comes from Lin
Tan,a small town situated some twenty miles
up the small river opposite the pagoda j ust
below Tak Hing . Very little straw is grown
in this district,and the bulk of which this
matting is made comes from the Tung Kun
district,up the East River, almost on the
other side of the province . Large quantities
of matting are also made there ; but that
which is made at Lin Tan is a much better
quality,has a Superior finish
,and is known
al l over the world .
Almost directly after leaving Luk To wepass the Kwai Kwan Shek (Cock
’s Comb
Rock), somewhere about half-past two— a cu
rions serrated ridge of solid marble— one of
the salient features of the river.
For the next half- dozen miles we pass num
e rous l ime ki lns bui lt in the hi llsides,most of
them in full swing.
Shortly before arriving at Yuet Shing we
pass a favourite resort of local sportsmen,a
most luxuriant valley at Kong Shui,thickly
wooded and with a dense undergrowth . Here
are to be found pheasant,partridge
,snipe
,and
a few woodcock .
About three o ’clock we stop at Yuet Shing
(Glad City). This is a quiet country vi l lage ,doing very little business , and would be of no
49
importance at al l but for a famous tem ple
which has been bui lt here to the mother of
the , dragon and cal led the Lung Mo Miu .
This temple is a very imposing structure
with its many stone- paved courtyards,where
in are many strange structures,consisting of
a roof, Supported by granite pi llars , fantastically shaped and surmounted by a fine piece
of stucco work covered with small clay and
china fi gures , said to represent some m y tho
logical scene . A ll along the top of the roofs
of the main bui lding are many more such
scenes,whi lst dolphins , dragons , etc .
, of bright
chinaware gai ly disport themselves on the
ridge -poles . The oute r gate is guarded by
two colossal figures,one on either hand
,fully
fifteen feet H igh . Passing through this,we
com e to the main courtyard,in the centre of
which stands a small a rtificial pond . On either
side are smaller courts that on the left has a
bui lding at either end which are used as
school - rooms for the native chi ldren . The
one on the right is given up entirely to the
tomb of the Lung Mo (Dragon’s Mother),
which is a conical - shaped structure and is sur
rounded by tablets that have been presented
by various people at different times,some of
them being no doubt of great antiquity . The
temple proper is situated at the rear and has
three principal shrines in a fai r state of pres
e rvation,whilst ten temple guards about eight
[V/o M u.
Festztial .
50
feet high look down on the intruder, fiv e
standing on either hand . The whole is in
charge of three Buddhist priests , who are very
kind and courteous,informing us amongst
other things that the temple was over two
thousand years old .
The eighth day of the fifth moon , being the
natal day of the Lung M O,is every year set
aside for special worship , when people from
all parts of the province come here to ask the
Lung Mo for whatever they may requi re
may be a woman has no son and she comes to
ask that one may be given her ; a firm may
have lost heavi ly in business and several of
the partners come here to pray that they will
be more fortunate during the next year ; or
perhaps they are going to start a new com
pany and,if i t is to do with shipping
,they
must come and offer something to the drag
on ’s mother . It is estimated that from forty
to fifty thousand people visit this temple be
tween the seventh and twelfth day of the fifth
moon .
To prepare for this vast concourse of peo
ple , a large bamboo structure is built over the
whole of the outer courtyards and right down
to the river. The inside is decorate d with
cases containing small figures,representing
legions of al legorical and mythical scenes . In
the centre a large pagoda rears itself above
the surrounding structure— it , l ike the re
52
body was of five diffe rent colours , whilst the
head was adorned with apair of horns . Aftersome deliberation the woman and all the
neighbours concluded that i t must be a dragon .
When the Prefect heard of this he straightway
reported the matter to the Emperor , who sent
many valuable prese nts to the woman , and an
envoy,begging her to return with him to the
imperial palace,then situated at Cheung On ,
now known by the nam e of Si Ngau Fu . For
many months she re fused , but after much pe r
suasion consented and became one of the im
perial concubines A fter having been an in
mate of the palace for many moons the dragon
appeared to her and induced her to go on
board a ship and visit her native place . She
eagerly assented and made many voyages
there,as she w as never happy at the palace .
One day during one of these voyages she w as
taken il l,and , dying suddenly, was burie d at
Sai Yuen . Here the body lay for many years,
unti l one day during a very violent storm,
with thunder and l ightning which shook all
the surrounding country,the tomb suddenly
disappeared and the body came down to Pak
Kong (Yuet Shing). When this occurred the
beasts from all around came and wept over
her , emitting hum an wails and cries The
ge ntry of the nei’g‘hbourhood be ing greatly
impressed by this strange pheno ’menon,erect
53
e d a temple by the side of her grave and ded
icate d i t to the Lung Mo. This temple was
repaire d in the reign of Tai Wo, of the Tong
Dynasty , and again in the reign of Kien Lung ,of the present Dynasty .
The dragon—boat festival , which is held onthe fifth day of the fifth moon
,must not be
quite distinct from each other. Thl S popular
festival is held in memory of Wat Yuen,a vir
tuous and popular high minister of state , who
com mitte d suicide by plunging into a river ,
and was drowned about 50 0 B. C .
The prevale nt story among scholars who
profess to know the origin of this dragon-boat
racing is as follows : Wat Yuen was a high
minister of state during the Chau Dynasty .
He served under the profligate Prince Cho,
w ho was the governor of the provinces of H u
peh and Hunan,then the state of Tsu . He
proposed certain very necessary reforms to
the prince, to Whom he w as related but the
prince refused to listen to him . He proposed
them again a second and yet a third time .
Becoming at last obnoxious to the pleasure
loving prince for his pe'
rsistent e in endeavor
ing to secure his attention to state affairs , he
dismissed the faithful c’
ourtier from serving
about his person Wat Yuen,unable to bear
Drag on- boat
54
the disgrace,and at the same time foreseeing
the ruin of his country , plunged into a river
and was drowned Some fishermen who saw
the act,hastened to the spot where he d isap
pe are d ,but after searching the river in al l di
rections were unable to recover the body .
On the corresponding day of the fol lowing
year— that is,the fifth day of the fifth moon
they repe ated the ceremony of searching for
his body,and threw offerings of boi led rice
into the river to appease the spi rit of Wat
Yuen . Subsequently this became a regular
yearly festival which gradual ly spread all over
the Empire . The offerings of rice were e m
closed in pieces of si lk , tied up with five differ
ent coloured threads— green,red
,white
,black
and yellow.
The origin of this custom is explained by
the following myth : On one occasion,whi lst
a number of votaries were engaged on the
banks of the Mek Lo River in worshiping and
presenting the customary offerings to the
spirit of Wat Yuen,he suddenly appeared and
addressed them in the following word s “I
have hitherto been unable to avai l myself ofthe offerings which you and others have sograciously presented to me
,in consequence of
a huge reptile which immediately se izes and
devours all things that are cast into the river .
I request you,therefore
,to enclose all offe r
55
ings intended for me in small pieces of si lk
and to carefully bind the same by means of
five threads,each being of a different colour .
Offe ring s which are enclosed in this manner
the reptile w i l l not dare to touch .
The above myth is taken from Archdeacon
Larg e crowds of men , women and children“
assemble every ye ar to watch the sport of the
dragon- boat racing . Prizes of l ittle or no in
trinsic value are offe red,which are eagerly
contested for,for the mere honour of winning.
The crews of the boats are often treated to
w ine by the spectators,and towards evening
become somewhat hilarious . The poorer peo
ple line the banks,whilst the wealthy engage
flow e r-boats and moor them along the course,
the dragon- boats passing bet ween them and
These dragon-boats are built very long and
narrow,being from fifty to a hundred feet in
leng th and three or four feet wide . Some of
them at Canton carry as many as one hundred
and twenty men . The men sit two abreast
and rapidly propel the boat by means of short
paddles,to the accompaniment of a drum and
several gongs placed at intervals along the
centre of the boat. The boat is made to rep
resent a dragon,having a dragon ’s head with
Open mouth in the bow and a tai l over the
stern ; also being gai ly decorated with flags
Boats.
Luk Pu .
56
and red umbrellas . A man stands in the bow
with a small flag in each hand which he waves
about as though he were casting offerings
into the water . Little packages of boiled rice ,
done up in bamboo leaves , are eaten at this
time,as such offering are supposed to have
been cast into the river by the fishermen who
tried to recover Wat Y ue n’
s body . This fes
tival is so universal that even members of the
Impe rial household go to Tang Chow on the
Peiho River to witness these races .
Stopping at Yuet - Shing j ust long enough
to land and embark a few passengers,we con
tinue our voyage,bearing a little to the right .
The river for a few miles is very wide with along , narrow island lying right in the middle ,which is connected with the left bank by a
wide stretch of sand during the winter months .
Many of the hil lsides are covered with tea,
rows of cacti interspe rsed amongst it to keep
the soi l from falling away,as in many places
these hil ls rise very precipitously . Other
hi lls are terraced , and large crops are seen
growing to perfe ction . In fact,this part of
the country has a decidedly more prosperous
and cultivated appearance than any farther up
the river.
Shortly after four o ’clock we sight Luk Pu
(Six Steps). This se ems a very flourishing
and well bui lt market townwhich supplies the
country for miles round . A market is held
57
twenty-first and twenty- sixth day of everymoon . The principal exports of the place are
root is a tuber which,when boiled
,gives out
ties of which
use to make their working clothes .
powder is what might be called a
There is a tree which grows in
large quantities in this neighbourhood called
by the Chinese Hung Shu this is cut down
and dried . Afterwards it IS pounded into a
ve ry fine aromatic powder, and forms the prin
cipal component part of a joss- stick.
The river now winds first one way and then
the other, none of the reaches being more
than three miles in length,so that a new pic
ture opens out to view every few minutes .
Pre sently we enter a reach which,from the
uppe r end , looks to be a pe rfect lake . Con
j e cture s are rife as to which way the ship is
going to turn when we reach the other end
the matter is decided by the time we are half
way down the reach , when we se e that it is
necessary to make a sharp right ang uiar turn
to the right and enter the Sam Yung Hap ,otherwise known as the Sm all Gorge . Thisis a very pre tty piece of rugged scenery, the
rocky hi l ls running down to the water ’s edge .
tlzroug /z tlze
58
A fter leaving the small gorge there is a
now and plain on either bank about two and a half
miles long . On the right hand bank is the
illag e of E U Wan,whilst that on the left is a
barren expanse over which in former years the
river used to flow . A ccording to the Chinese,
during the low water in the winter months alarge dyke was bui lt from the lower end of
the gorge to Spike Hill , which rises abruptly
and alone at the lowe r e nd of the reach,thus
turning the whole stream round the south of
the hi l l .
The Skinfl ing Three cai rn l ike structures were then built
one /tors. on the summit of Spike Hill These are supposed to be the anchors to the important town
of Shi u Hing , and as long as they are in posi
tion they wi ll keep the city from being washed
through the Large Gorge . The dyke was
bui lt about eight hundred years ago .
Entering the Shiu Hing reach,w e notice a
very fine old monastery with thre e tie rs of
buildings , the roofs of which rise above but
behind e ach other,standing on the side of the
westernmost hil l on the south shore,along
which ranges of mountains roll away into the
d istance ; whilst on the le ft , be tween the ri ver
and the hi lls there is the large plain that was
reclaimed when the dyke was bui lt,and on
which stands the city of Shi u Hing . Directly
after passing Spike Hill there is a very old
temple dedicated to the Lung Mo (Mother of
Trade .
6 0
seem to be more than half that number.
The whole of the business is done in the
eastern and western suburbs (a long single
street several miles in length running along
the embankment). Here many of the shops
are well bui lt and all kinds of articles are ex
posed for sale whilst an air of prosperity per
vades the place which is totally lacking withi n
the walls . Shiu H ing draws nearly all its
supplies from other distri cts and has practi
cally no resources of its own . Its on ly importance is that it is the commercial centre on
the West River for a very large district, and
large quantities of tea,cassia
,bamboo-ware
and straw bags are brought here for exporta
tion .
Several pagodas have been built on sites
specially selected and are supposed to adj ust
the geomantic influences,so that the people
may dwell here in peace and comfort . But
this has not always been the case,as a very
stubborn resistance w as offered to the Tartar
troops when they besieged the city, and the
slaughter is said to have been so great that
blood ran down in stream s to the river and
tinged it crimson .
Again , in the m onth of Aug ust , 1 857, during the Tai Ping rebe ll ion , the city Was in
Veste d by rebe ls who,taking advantage of the
6 1
swol len state of the West River,swept down
past the forts at Fong Chuen , Tak Hing , and
other p laces , thei r advance being greatly assisted
“
by using rafts constructed of large sparslashed together and having fires lighted on
the foremost end,that the smoke might act as
a cloak and partial ly hide the men from the
gunners on the banks . Thei r presence be
fore Sh'i u Hing occasioned great distress in
the city . The first detachment of Imperial
troops sent to oppose them sustai ned a severe
d efeat ; but a second body , some three thou
sand strong , raised the siege and the rebels
retreated towards Wuchow before the end of
the m onth .
Between 1580 and 159 0 A . D the first R 0
man Catholic missionaries settled here . and
ever since it has been one of their strongest
centres in South China.
Away to the northeast of the city aboutthree miles distant are the famous marble hil ls
and caves,called by the Chinese Tsat Sing
Ngam (Seven Star Clifls), which rise abruptlyfrom the plain . They consist of groups and ,
in some instances , of isolated precipitous hil ls ,
greyish black in colour,and are probably of
igneous formation . They show up very boldlya g ainst the bare red hil ls in the background .
Trees of various descriptions , al l covered with
H 'em ie r
6 2
a peculiar kind of blight, grow in al l the erev
ices,whilst numerous Buddhist temples and
monasteries are perched on the p recipitous
sides of these hi lls and are approached by as
ce nd ing several hundred steps w hich have
been cut out of the solid rock . There is a
cave in the largest of these hi lls , the entrance
of which is at the base and so low that at a
distance it looks as though one had to crawlthrough ; instead of which , i t is high enough
for the tallest man to walk in upright . A fter
entering the cavern,i t quickly grows loftier
and wider,unti l at the other end it becomes
quite a lofty dome Another opening,high
up on the Opposite side , allows the light to
enter,but it is so dim that it i s quite im pos
sible to estimate the height of the cavern .
Ascending a fl ight of steps leading towards
this opening bring us to a small temple cut
out of the solid rock and dedicated to Kun
Yum (The Goddess of Mercy), a life- sized fig
ure of whom has been cut out of the vi rgin
marble , which many of the credulous natives
believe is a natural formation and not fash
ione d by the hand of man . Two nearly life
sized figures of warriors,each carved out of
solid blocks of marble,stand as guards over
this sanctuary .
The fol lowing legend w as contributed by
C .
” to the February number of Notes and
6 3
Queries , 1 86 7: Many generations ago , the
Prefect of‘
Shi u Hing dreamed a dream . In
his dream he saw myriads of devi ls who,in
answer to his enqui ries,told him that they
were g oing to ove rthrow the ruling dynasty .
The Prefect expressed disbe lief in their power
to do so,but the devi ls sti l l asserted their
power and thei r purpose . The Prefect desired
som e distinguishing mark by which to recog
nize the devi ls in any alte red form which they
mig ht assume in carrying out their threats ,
and the latter consented to allow him to mark
e ach of them with a red spot on the forehead
as a token of recognition . This the Prefect
did . When he awoke he was much troubled,
not knowing whethe r his dealings with the
devi ls were a reality or an idle vis ion . He
went out to consult wise men on the subj ect,
but what was his surprise on retu rning to hisyamun to find it strewed with small
,round
stones,on every one of which was a red spot
“These ,” thought he ,
“are surely the devi ls
I marked last night,and what a good oppor
tunity is this for me to get them in my
power.” Accordingly he caused all the stonesto be collected
,to be firmly secured in earth
e nw are j ars , and then to be locked up in a
strong room in his yam un . But before they
were finally secured they entered into a parley
with the Prefect,the result of which w as an
agreement on their part to submit to incarce r
Leg end of
6 4
ation ti ll a ce rtaintree in the yamun shouldblossom
,when they were to be released . The
Wi ly Prefe ct knew,but the devi ls d id not
know,that this parti cular tree never did blos
som in the latitude of Shiu Hing , and thus he
congratulated himself on having saved the
government from these powerful enemies . Itwas understood
,however, that to render the ir
imprisonment valid the door w as to be sealed
with the Prefect ’s seal , which w as to be re
newed by each successive holder of that offi ce .
Prefect after prefect,for some generations
,oc
cupie d the yamun , and each of them on as
sum ing office faithful ly resealed the devi l’s
prison,unti l at length the story began to be
forgotten or disbelieved,and one unlucky pre
feet named Luk,forge tting or carelessly neg
le cting to perform this duty, the door w as
thoughtlessly opened and a jar of the devi ls
broken . At the moment this occurred it happened that an official retinue were in the ya
mun,and the followers had hung thei r red
tasselled caps on the tree , the blossoming of
Which w as to have been a signal for the release of the prisoners . Perce iving that their
release was the result of accident,mistaking
the red tassels for flowers,and assuming that
the tree had thus flowered eve ry year dur ingtheir long confinement
,the devi ls were much
incense d at this breach of faith in the matter
of their promised re lease, and in retal iation
6 5
they caused the city to be submerged below
the waters of the river,and it w as not unti l
they were recaptured (the story says nothow), and the door resealed , that the city
again came above the water. Taught by woeful experience
,each succeed ing prefect w as
from that time careful to reseal the door on
assuming ofl‘ice ; and thus the devi ls were
long restrained from doing mischief.
Time passed on,and with the same result
as before , faith in the necessity of sealing thedoor w as shaken , and in 1 854 ( 1 857P)a pre
fee t , surnamed Ma, assumed office . He ut
te rly despised the story of the devi ls. Notonly did he omit to seal the door, but he
caused the red- spotted stones to be taken
from the strong room and to be thrown away.
What w as the result P In that very year thered- turbaned rebels (the devi ls with red marks
on their foreheads now appearing in human
form)captured the city !Here the legend ends . Whether the devi ls
have been recaptured , or whether they are
sti ll abroad devising schemes for the release
of the few remaining jars of their comrades
which escaped M a’
s d estruction , or whether
they ceased to exist when their human pe r
sonifications were kil led,the legend say e th
not. But so far as the legend goes it is
vouched for, at th is day ,by the inhabitants of
Shiu Hing, who declare that the sealed strong
77a Larg e
6 6
room may be seen any day, and that no man
of the surname Luk or Ma would be allowed
to be Prefect of Shi u Hing.
Shortly after six o ’clock we approach theShiu Hing Hap or Gorge . At the base of thehil ls on either side of this defi le two rather
handsome temples have been bui lt, and from
the steamer they appear to be in a good state
of preservation . A small pagoda on the browof the first hi l l on the left bank exercises ageomantic influence over the waters of the
pass . The rive r now narrows down from two
miles to about a quarter of a m i le in width ,
and towards the lower end it decreases to
about two hundred and fifty yards . Themountains rise steeply on either hand . They
are bold and rugged,some of them rising in
precipitous grandeur to a height in some cases
of over two thousand five hundred feet,whilst
many of the val leys are strikingly picturesque ,
the vegetation and foliage in them standing
out in marked rel i ef to the barrenness of thesurrounding hills . This beautiful pass is be
tween three and a half to four miles long,and
the hills by which it is hemmed in are from
seven hundred to two thousand eight hundred
feet in height.
6 8
up river. This stone is called Mong Fu (Ex
pe ctant or Waiting Wife). According to thelegend
,her husband left her to go into the
neighbouring province of Kwang Si on business
.She ascended this hi l l to watch for his
return,which w as delayed so long that she
eventual ly tu rned into stone . Another storysays that he never went to Kwang Si but
came down to Canton instead , and spent all
his money in the flower boats and w as unable
to return . We hear that there is a simi lar stone
some little way this sid e of Nannin g and thatit is called The De tained Husband .
” If that
is so,it completely upsets the second story !
After passing through this gorge the riveragain widens out and flows be tw een low- lying
land on either side . This land is principally
given over to ri ce- growing, and we hear that
these rice marshes are amongst the best in
South China for a day ’s snipe shooting.
Aw ay back from the river on the left bankri ses a magnificent mountain some three thou
sand odd feet high , the eastern slope of which
is covered by . a thick forest. This is Teng Yu
Shan (Lake on Top of a Mountain). Here:there is a very old Buddhist monaste ry
,said
by those w ho. have visited it to be the clean
e st and be st kept in SouthChina. Just belowthe monastery the re is.a very pretty w ate rfall
which empties itself into a lake of no mean
6 9
dimensions,situated about a thousand feet
Some two and a halfor three miles below Kw ang Le e
the gorge there is a larg e m ud island in the
middle of the river with‘ a channel on either
side of it. A larg e town standing to the northand known as Kwang Lee gives the island itsname . The Chinese cal l i t Mak Yin Chow
(Ink- stone Island). The legend with regard
to it is as follows :
Several hundred years ago , Pau Man Cheng M ak YinSka
w as Prefect of Shiu Hing , and whilst se rvingin that office greatly distinguished himself
perhaps more for his honesty than ability. Hebecame one of the highest ministers of state
be fore the time of his death . After servinghis te rm of office as Prefect of Shiu Hing
,and ,
whilst on his way home,a~violent storm over
took his boat shortly after coming through
the Shiu Hing Gorge This he inte rpreted to
be owing to the displeasure of the gods and
be gan to examine himse lf as to what he had
done that could have so displeased them .
He said , “During the whole term of my office I have acce pted neither present nor bribe .
Suddenly he corre cte d: himself,remembering
that a fri e nd had. given him a j ade ink- stone .
Calling for a servant, he gave orde rs to bringalong the apparent cause of the gods ’ displeas
ure . On rece iving it, he threw it into the
Sam S lzuz .
70
river. The storm immediate ly ceased ; and
the gods,to mark their approbation of his
Spotless integri ty,raised up this island as a
pe rmanent monument,that the lesson should
be ever kept fresh in the minds of the people .
A run of an hour and a half brings us to Sam
Shui . We remain here only about halfan hour,
as there is very little cargo to discharge and
nothing whatever to take on board. A s soon
as the vesse l is clear of the harbour we retire
to bed so that we may have a good night ’s
rest, as we intend to have a look round Can
ton before we return to Hongkong by the
evening steamer to-morrow.
We arrive at Canton about breakfast time,
thus bringing to a close this most delightful
trip,which not only affords a complete change
of scene to the ti red or j aded resident Of
Hongkong,but also affords to the chance vis
itor to these shores a better Opportunity tobecome acquainted with Chinese scenery
,
architecture , manners and customs than can be
obtained by any other tri p of the same dura
tion . It enables one to get a birds- eye View,
so to speak , of the oldest c ivi l iz ation in the
world while travell ing surrounded by al l mod
ern comforts . Anyone who takes this trip wi llalways have del ightful me mories of China ’s
great Si Kiang .
”
TH E E N D.
unde rtaken.
Prom pt Re turns.
E 8: G IL,
Photo G oods S tore .
Rooms, 12Queen’
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Floor above Messrs Price 81Co,
H ON G KON G .
"onerous, am en, MAcAoANBWESTmvrnSTEAMERS.
JOINT SERVICE OF THE HONGKONG. CANTON AND MACAOSTEAMBOAT CO LD.,AND THE CHIN A NAVIGATION CO. ,
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Rive r. Spe cial attention is d rawn to the ir Supe rior Saloon andCabin Accom m odation.
SE RVICE OF TH E HONGKONG,CANTON A N DMACAOSTE AMBOAT co ,LD.
H ON G KON G -M ACAO LI N E .
S.S. HEUNGSHAN,
tons, CaptainW. E . Clarke .De parture s from Hongkong to Macao daily at 2p. 111. (Sunday e xce pted).De partures from Macao to Hongkong daily at 8 a, m .
CAN TON -M ACAO LIN E .
S. .S “IL ,UNG SHA .N 21 9 tons, CaptainT. H am l in.This Steam e r l eave sCanton for Macao e ve ry Tue sday, Thursday and Saturdayat about a. m .; and leave s Macao for Canton e ve ry Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at about a. m .
JOINT SERVICE OF TH E H ONGKONG, CA NTON A N D M ACA OSTE AMBOAT co.,
LD.,TH E CHINA NAVIGATION co., LD.,
A N DTH E INDO-CHINA STEAM NAVIGATION oo.,LD.
CAN TON -WUCH OW LI N E .
SAIN ”
588 tons, Captain B. Branch.
8 .S. NANNIN G,
’
56 9 tons, Captain C. Butchart.S.S. TA K HING,
”56 18 tons, Captain R. D. Thom as.
De parture s from Canton and Wuchow about five tim es e ve ry w e e k. Roundtrips take about five days. These vesse ls have Supe rior Cabin A ccom
m odation and are l ighte d throughout by e le ctricity.w Furthe r part iculars m ay be obtained at the Oflioe of
NON GKON G ,CANTON ANDMAGAOSTEAMBOAT l l).1 8 Bank Buildings, Que e n’
s Road Ce ntral (opposite the H ongkong Hote l);Or of BU
'
ITE RFIE LD SWIRE,A g e nts Ch ina N av i g at ion Com pany ,
Ld .
JOB PRI N TI N G ,
TR U E LI G H T,
in the Chinese languag e, and circulating inChina and in
A . s. WA TSON 8c Co.,
L I M I T E D
THE GANTON DISPEN SARY,Twodoors from theVictoriaHotel andopposite the
EnglishBridge,
SH A M E E N CA N TON .
CH E M ISTS A N D DRU G G ISTS ,
W I N E A N D SP IRIT A N D
CIGAR MERCHA NTS.
— DEALERS IN
PH OTOG RA PH IC SU PPLI E S .
J am ie Water
M A N U FA CTU R E R S
PIOTORIALPOSTCARDSANDVIEWSOFCANTON.
RE G ULAR STE A M SH IP S E RVICE S
— BETWEEN
H ong kong the S trai ts S e t tl e m ents, and
Calcu tta ; H ong kong and the Phil ip
pine s ; and H ong kong and Java.
TH E COM PA N Y’
S STE A M E RS
are fitte d with E le ctric Lig ht , and
withall m ode rn im prove m ents. E xce llent accom m odation is p rovide d for
First-class Passe ng e rs.
FOR FU RTHER INFORMATION APPLY TO
JARDIN E . MATH ESON Sr CO..
General Manag ers.
TA ILORS,
GE NTLEME N ’
S OUTFITTERS
H ATTERS, ee HOSIERS,
A NDDRAPERS,
DE A LE RS I N
CH IN E SE SILKSor ALLKINDS.
52Queen’
s Road,tantra!,
H ON G KON G .
W . BRE WE R 81 CO.
Bookse l le rs,
S tatione rs and Printe rs,
Die S inke rs and E ng rave rs,
Book Binde rs,
A ccount Book M anufacture rs, &c .
23 St 25QUE E N’
SROAD, HON GKON G .
QOW OQ
Boo/rs 0 f 0 /71'
naa!labor Boots ct Shoes
PostCards Gam esofall kinds
Guide Books Eg yptianCig arettes
N iches of li tig lgbourlgnoh.
A 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 77 9
V V .
54 -56 Q ue e n’
s Road Ce ntral .WATOHNAKERS, JEN ELLERS ANDOPTICIANS,CARRY A LARGE A N D SELECT STOCK OF
E N G LIS H and SWISS
GOLD81 SILVE R WATCH E S.
S e thantiQE iam nnhg emrllm , E ism m ths.
Unive rsit ofCaliforniaSOUTH E RN RE G IO ALLIBRA RY FACILITY
40 5 I-Iilg ard Ave nue ,Los A ng e le s,CA 9 0 024-1388Re turn this m ate rial to the libraryfrom w hich it was borrow e d .
GENERALINPORTERS A0
fi0
TA ILORIN G ANDShi rts , H 0 5 1e fyf , U nderwear , GloHats
,Caps ; Boots and Shoes ,
Tri mks,_.g S , Hold-A 113
,R
Saddle y
t i
of every d e scripg iCafars, Tobaccos , Smo!
m orting Goods , Gan
LA DIES ’ D il l"
Ladies ’ Trimmed Hats and Bonn:Ladies ’ Costumes
,Rain Coax
,
Ladies ’ U mbrellas . SunshadHousehold D r apery ,
FurnDeck Cha irs
,Chai r Cus
Carpets,R ugs
,Be dst
Curtains,Tape st
‘
ie
GROCERIES A N DWi f
ies , Spi rits , Beers and LiquorElectro Plate , Cutlery , Ironm o
Brushes , Sponges , and Toi leLamps
,Stoves
,Glass
,and
Pianos , Musical InstrurrE ve ry re yuzln
'
te ful’
'
1 32
~ SOI E A G E N DNapier Johnstone ’
s‘v‘fhisky , 5 l
Black and White i ’v 11 1skvClan _Macken7ie Whisky , i
M— G E N E RAL
The Hongkong and ChinaBS H IP CH A N DLE RY
Ships’
Store s 0
Q ueen’s Road and De