8 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS CHINA'S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 0 Chinese historical thinking traditionally looked forward to repetitive categorized and hierarchic Confucian world,the Western merchants who cycles,the expectation that one dynasty would eventually be succeeded reached the east coast of China by sea in modern times were designated, by another was an important factor in political life.Expectations or fears literally,"eastern barbarians"(/).*Being of a different,and therefore in- concerning barbarian conquest were similarly important in the conduct of ferior,culture,they could hardly qualify for any other appellation.Yet foreign relations.In this way the British and other Westerners who moved by this simple fact of terminology they were prejudged and stigmatized into China in the nineteenth century became the heirs of the ages without with the characteristics traditionally assigned to barbarians.In a society knowing it. already stultified by its classical tradition,this ancient designation and the As a first step in exploring this attitude toward the barbarians,let us assumptions which went with it dulled the edge of curiosity and inhibited note the curious alternation between Chinese and barbarian political the Chinese scholar's intellectual response to Western contact. domination of the empire in the four periods of Tang-Sung,Liao-Chin- That the tributary view of the West survived beyond its time in the Yuan,Ming,and Ch'ing.Their sequence has been tabulated by Wittfogel minds of the Chinese literati is evident from any examination of their and Feng as follows:± writings.Official publications of the court,private works,and the memorials of officials who were in contact with the British,American,and French invaders in the 184o's and 185o's all exhibit this stultification.The first TABLE 1.DYNASTIES OF IMPERIAL CHINA type of material,chiefly official compilations of the eighteenth century (221B.C.-A.D.1912) when the Manchu power was at its height,gives one the impression that I.Typically Chinese Dynasties there was little interest in the study of the West.The traditional Chinese II.Dynasties of Conquest (and “Infiltration") idea of the barbarians seems to have been applied to the West,lock,stock I.Ch'in and Han (221 B.C.-A.D.220) and barrel.It is plain from later documents that the traditional terminology 2.The Chinese dynasties during the was so applied.The British minister was called the "English barbarian period of disruption (220-581) chieftain"for twenty years after the first treaties.In Chinese documents 3.Wei (T'o-pa)(386-556)and other the British continually seemed grateful for the emperor's compassion and northern barbarian dynasties directly before and after stood in awe of his name.Like all barbarians,even the British had a sense 4.Sui and T'ang (581-907) of shame at their own uncouthness.Thus the bearers of Western civilization 5.Sung (96o-1279) in the Orient were described to the court at Peking in the terms which were 6.Liao (Ch'i-tan)(9o7-1125) traditional for barbarous tribes like the Burut of Central Asia and the 7.Chin (Jurchen)(1I15-1234) 8.Yuan (Mongol)(I206-1368) Miao-tzu and Lo-lo of China's southwest. 9.Ming(1368-I644) In the latter days of the Ming,Matteo Ricci and his Jesuit colleagues 1o.Ch'ing (Manchu)(1616-1912) had interested the Confucian literati in maps of the world which showed strange countries to the west.Many of the Jesuit transliterations of these During the last thousand years,in short,the Chinese people have been place names have survived in modern Chinese usage.But this new knowl- almost half the time under alien domination.Barbarian rule has been an edge presented to Chinese scholarly circles in the period after 16oo did not integral part of their political life.We may assume that the aggression of survive for long,or at least did not retain its significance,after the estab- the Western barbarians in the nineteenth century seemed to the Chinese of lishment of the Manchu dynasty.It was generally disregarded during the that day to be nothing new in principle,even though in the end it had the eighteenth century.7 This is one of the puzzles of Chinese intellectual his- effect of shattering their traditional polity.This intellectual complacency *In the classical tradition this term had become one of the four generic terms for the barbarians on about the barbarian world was an element of weakness in China's political o(hapbarians o the ast (arbarians on the So heritage. on the West),and Ti (barbarians on the Nortb). Originally,however,the term had not been so restricted to one point of the compass,for the oracle China's conception of the Western barbarians.The concept of Europe bones and ancient bronzes bear inscriptions indicating that there were many types of /on the South, and America which became current in Chinese thought after the beginning East,and West.Similarly,there were several types of Mfan,not merely on the South,but to be found in all the five quarters-East,South,West,North snd Central,while the term Jaoe indicated back- of Western trade in the sixteenth century was certainly as significant as ward tribes in any quarter of the compass,as did the term Ti.One scholat sthat the differ. the trade itself,but has been little studied.Generally speaking,in the highly entiation by the four quarters appeared first in the book of Mo-tzu,after which it became well established in the Han period
il I " i,' II II I t .. 8 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS Chinese historical thinking traditionally looked forward to repetitive cycles, the expectation that one dynasty would eventually he succeeded by another was an important factor in political life. Expectations or fears concerning barbarian conquest were similarly important in the conduct of foreign relations. In this way the British and other Westerners who moved into China in the nineteenth century became the heirs of the ages without knowing it. As a first step in exploring this attitude toward the barbarians, let us note the curious alternation between Chinese and barbarian political domination of the empire in the four periods of T'ang-Sung, Liao-ChinYuan, Ming, and Ch'ing. Their sequence has been tabulated by Wittfogel and Feng as follows: 4 , TABLE 1. DYNASTIES OF IMPERIAL CHINA (221 B.C. -A.D. 1912) I. Typically Chinese Dynasties I. Ch'in and Han (221 B.C. - A.D. 220) 2. The Chinese dynasties during the period of disruption (220-581) 4. Sui and T'ang (581-907) 5. Sung (960-1279) II. Dynasties oj Conquest (and "Infiltration") 3· Wei (T'o-pa) (386-556) and other northern barbarian dynasties directly before and after 6. Liao (Ch'i-tan) (907-II25) 7· Chin (Jurchen) (III5-1234) 8. Yuan (Mongol) (1206-1368) 10. Ch'ing (Manchu) (1616-1912) During the last thousand years, in short, the Chinese people have been almost half the time under alien domination. Barbarian rule has been an integral part of their political life. We may assume that the aggression of the Western barbarians in the nineteenth century seemed to the Chinese of that day to be nothing new in principle, even though in the end it had the effect of shattering their traditional polity. This intellectual complacency about the barbarian world was an element of weakness in China's political heritage. China's conception of the Western barbarians. The concept of Europe and America which became current in Chinese thought after the beginning of Western trade in the sixteenth century was certainly as significant as the trade itself, but has been little studied. Generally speaking, in the highly CHINA'S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 9 categorized and hierarchic Confucian world, the Western merchants who reached the east coast of China by sea in modern times were designated, literally, "eastern barbarians'" (/).a Being of a different, and therefore inferior, culture, they could hardly qualify for any other appellation. Yet by. this simple fact of terminology they were prejudged and stigmatized with the characteristics traditionally assigned to barbarians. In a society already stultified by its classical tradition, this ancient designation and the assumptions which went with it dulled the edge of curiosity and inhibited the Chinese scholar's intellectual response to Western contact. That the tributary view of the West survived beyond its time in the minds of the Chinese literati is evident from any examination of their writings. Official publications of the court, private works, and the memorials of officials :who were in contact with the British, American, and French invaders in the 1840'S and 1850's all exhibit this stultification. The first type of material, chiefly official compilations of the eighteenth century when the Manchu power was at its height, gives one the impression that there was little interest in the study of the West. The traditional Chinese idea of the barbarians seems to have been applied to the West, lock, stock and barrel. It is plain from later documents that the traditional terminology was so applied. The British minister was called the "English barbarian chieftain" for twenty years after the first treaties. In Chinese documents the British continually seemed grateful for the emperor's compassion and stood in awe of his name. Like all barbarians, even the British had a sense of shame at their own uncouthness. Thus the bearers of Western civilization in the Orient were described to the court at Peking in the terms which were traditional for barbarous tribes like the Burut of Central Asia and the Miao-tzu and Lo-Io of China's southwest.6 In the latter days of the Ming, Matteo Ricci and his Jesuit colleagues had interested the Confucian literati in maps of the world which showed strange countries to the west. Many of the Jesuit transliterations of these place names have survived in modern Chinese usage. But this new knowledge presented to Chinese scholarly circles in the period after 1600 did not survive for long, or at least did not retain its significance, after the establishment of the Manchu dynasty. It was generally disregarded during the eighteenth century.7 This is one of the puzzles of Chinese intellectual his- • In the classical tradition this term had become one of the four generic terms for the barbarians on the four quarters of the compass: I (barbarians on the East), Man (barbarians on the South), Jung (barbarians on the West), and Ti (barbarians on the North). OriginaIly, however, the term I had not been so restricted to one point of the compass, for the oracle bones and ancient bronzes bear inscriptions indicating that there were many types of I, on the South, East, and West. Similarly, there were several types of Man, not merely on the South, but to be found in all the five quarters:"'- East, South, West, North and Central, while the· term Jung indicated backward tribes in any quarter of the compass, as did the term Ti. One scholar suggests that the differentiation by the four quarters appeared first . in the book of Mo-tzu, after which it became weIl established in the· Han period.5
10 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS CHINA'S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 11 tory,and without venturing upon an explanation,it may be strikingly il- as Siam,Sungora,Ligor,Patani,Johore and way stations on the route to lustrated Singapore and the Straits of Malacca.One of the Portugals (Kan-ssu-la, The confusion regarding European countries.The countries of the West- or Castilla),however,was in the northwestern sea,as were also Sweden and ern Ocean were irretrievably confused with one another,even in the official Denmark.The exact location of the Western Ocean (Hsi-yang)was a bit publications of the imperial government.s For example,from medieval hazy since the term had originally been applied to the waters west of Europe via the Arabs had come the term Fo-lang-chi.This was a translitera- Borneo leading into the Indian Ocean,on the ancient western trade route, tion for"Franks,"that is,the Europeans in the Near East at the time of the route which went down the Indo-Chinese-Malayan coast and was to be the Crusades.When the Portuguese traveled to China by sea after I5oo, distinguished from the eastern route through the Philippines and Moluccas. they were identified as Fo-lang-chi because they came from the West.The When the early Europeans used the term Western Ocean to refer to the same term was also applied to the Spanish after their arrival in the Philip- Atlantic it was not illogically objected that the Western Ocean,as known pines in the sixteenth century.Since Portugal was under Spanish rule from to the Chinese,had been sailed through,from end to end,by the great I58o to 1640,this confusion was no doubt inescapable.The arrival of the Ming expeditions under Cheng Ho,without anyone noting a trace of French created a further terminological enigma because of the similarity of Europe.A.compromise was finally worked out by referring to the Indian France and Franks.Time and again Fa-lan-ksi,Fo-lang-hsi,Fu-lang- Ocean as the Little Western Ocean,Hsiao-ksi-yang,while the Atlantic be- hsi and similar transliterations for France were erroneously identified by came the Great Western Ocean,Ta-ksi-yang.Ta-hsi-yang,incidentally,was Chinese scholars with Fo-lang-chi,which now meant the Portuguese-Span- another of the names applied to Portugal.11 ish.Meanwhile,the term Kan-ssu-la for Castilla,the Spanish,had also been The relations between these minuscule kingdoms in the Great Western applied to the Portuguese;in addition,two tribute missions sent by the Ocean were naturally difficult to keep straight,particularly when they were King of Portugal,in 167o and 1727,had been recorded in official Chinese not too permanent in actual fact and were differently described by the works as from two separate countries,Po-erh-tu-ckia-li-ya and Po-erh-tu- patriotic members of each nationality on their visits to Chinese ports. ka-erk.But,in the meantime,the Jesuit missionaries in China had identified This official knowledge of the West was reflected,for example,in a special themselves as coming from Italy,I-ta-li-ya,and yet by their use of the compendium entitled "Illustrations of the Regular Tributaries of the Im- Portuguese settlement of Macao,as a port of entry,had become associated perial Ch'ing"which was compiled by imperial decree during the 175o's.12 with Portugal.Consequently,as late as 1844 the name I-ta-li-ya was being The high officials of the border provinces supplied materials to indicate applied to the Portuguese at Macao,and when a genuine Italian turned how "within and without the empire united under our dynasty,the bar- up in 1848,his country had to be identified as I-ta-li,an entirely new and barian tribes submit their allegiance and turn toward civilization."It is separate country from I-ta-li-ya.9 There were also other ways of referring significant that among these ten elaborate volumes,the great bulk of which to Portugal,in addition to the five just mentioned.It would have taken a dealt with the tribes of Inner Asia and of Southwest China,the first strong mind to identify Fo-lang-chi,Kan-ssu-la,Po-erh-tu-chia-li-ya,Po- volume was devoted to the overseas tributaries.They are listed in the erk-tu-ka-erk,and I-ta-li-ya as all referring to the same small Western regular order:Korea,Liu-ch'iu,Annam,Siam,Sulu,Laos,Burma,and country. Great Western Ocean.The last named,however,is described in twelve Confusion was,of course,not confined to the books.Just as Chinese, plates with text as opposed to twenty-six plates for all the preceding.This Japanese,and Koreans look much the same to the Western man in the is followed by sections on Small Western Ocean,England,France,Sweden, street,so the Westerners in China,as in Japan,were indistinguishable in Holland,Russia,and the Philippines.The European countries occupy their common outlandishness.The colloquial term,Hung-mao-fan,"red- twenty-eight out of seventy-four plates,and are thus considerably more haired barbarians (or foreigners),"was applied to both the Dutch and the prominent than in the antiquated Ch'ing dynasty lists based on Ming English,whose blue eyes,red complexions,beak noses,and tawny hair made sources,in which the European countries are almost lost to view among the them all indiscriminately exotic.10 numerous small states of Southeast Asia and India. Since the Jesuit map of the world had not gained much acceptance in Considering this prominence given the Europeans,it is surprising how China,the native habitat of these Europeans remained shadowy.They all little is recorded in this work concerning them.First of all,there is great arrived by sea from the southwest,and the Collected Statutes of 1818 there- confusion as to the European states.The Great Western Ocean country is fore opined that their homelands were "in the southwestern sea,"the same identified both with Ricci and the Pope and with the Portuguese at Macao
10 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS tory, and without venturing upon an explanation, it may be strikingly illustrated. The confusion regarding European countries. The countries of the Western Ocean were irretrievably confused with one another, even in the official publications of the imperial government.s For example, from medieval Europe via the Arabs had come the term Fo-lang-chi. This was a transliteration for' "Franks," that is, the Europeans in the Near East at the time of the Crusades. When the Portuguese traveled to China by sea after 1500 they were identified as Fo-lang-chi because they came from the West. Th~ s~me ~erm w~s also applied to t~e Spanish after their arrival in the Philippmes m the sIxteenth century. Smce Portugal was under Spanish rule from 1580 to 1640, this confusion was no doubt inescapable. The arrival of the French created a further terminological enigma because of the similarity of Fr~nce a~d. Franks .. Time. and again Fa-lan-hsi, Fo-lang-hsi, Fu-langhsz and SImIlar transhteratIOns for France were erroneously identified by ~hinese scho!ars with Fo-lang-chi, which now meant the Portuguese-SpanIsh. MeanwhIle, the term Kan-ssu-la for Castilla, the Spanish, had also been a~plied to the Por.tuguese; in addition, two tribute missions sent by the Kmg of Portugal, m 1670 and 1727, had been recorded in official Chinese works as from two separate countries, Po-erh-tu-chia-li-ya and Po-erh-tuka-erh. But, in the meantime, the Jesuit missionaries in China had identified themselves as coming from Italy, I-ta-li-ya, and yet by their use of the P?rtuguese settlement of Macao, as a port of entry, had become associated wIth. Portugal. Consequently, as late as 1844 the name I-ta-li-ya was being apphed to the Portuguese at Macao, and when a genuine Italian turned up in 1848, his country had to be identified as I-ta-li, an entirely new and separate country from I-ta-li-ya. 9 There were also other ways of referring to Portugal, in addition to the five just mentioned. It would have taken a strong mind to identify Fo-lang-chi, Kan-ssu-la, Po-erh-tu-chia-li-ya Poerh-tu-ka-erh, and I-ta-li-ya as all referring to the same small W:stern country. Confusion was, of course, not confined to the books. Just as Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans look much the same to the Western man in the street, so the Westerners in China, as in Japan, were indistinguishable in their common outlandishness. The colloquial term, Hung-mao-fan "redhaired barbarians (or foreigners)," was applied to both the Dutch ~nd the English, whose blue eyes, red complexions, beak noses and tawny hair made them all indiscriminately exotic.10 ' Since the Jesuit map of the world had not gained much acceptance in China, the native habitat of these Europeans remained shadowy. They all arrived by sea from the southwest, and the Collected Statutes of 1818 therefore opined that their homelands were "in the southwestern sea," the same CHIN A"S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 11 as Siam, Sungora, Ligor, Patani, Johore and way stations on the route to Singapore and the Straits of Malacca. One of the PortugaIs (Kan-ssu-la, or Castilla), however, was in the northwestern sea, as were also Sweden and Denmark. The exact location of the Western Ocean (Hsi-yang) was a bit hazy since the term had originally been applied to the waters west of Borneo leading into the Indian Ocean, on the ancient western trade route, the route which went down the Indo-Chinese-Malayan coast .and was to be distinguished from the eastern route through the Philippines and Moluccas. When the early Europeans used the term Western Ocean to refer to the Atlantic it was not illogically objected that the Western Ocean, as known to the Chinese, had been sailed through, from end to end, by the great Ming expeditions under Cheng Ho, without anyone noting a trace of Europe. A ,compromise was finally worked out by referring to the Indian Ocean as the Little Western Ocean, Hsiao-hsi-yang, while the Atlantic became the Great Western Ocean, Ta-hsi-yang. Ta-hsi-yang, incidentally, was another of the names applied to Portugal,u The relations between these minuscule kingdoms in the Great Western Ocean were naturally difficult to keep straight, particularly when they were not too permanent in actual fact and were differently described by the patriotic members of each nationality on their visits to Chinese ports. This official knowledge of the West was reflected, for example, in a special compendium. entitled "Illustrations of the Regular Tributaries of the Imperial Ch'ing" which was compiled by imperial decree during the 17 50'S.12 The high officials of the border provinces supplied materials to indicate how "within and without the empire united under our dynasty, the barbarian tribes submit their allegiance and turn toward civilization." It is significant that among these ten elaborate volumes, the great bulk of which dealt with the tribes of Inner Asia and of Southwest China, the first volume was devoted to the overseas tributaries. They are listed in the regular order: Korea, Liu-ch'iu, Annam, Siam, Sulu, Laos, Burma, and Great Western Ocean. The last named, however, is described in twelve plates with text as opposed to twenty-six plates for all the preceding. This is followed by sections on Small Western Ocean, England, France, Sweden, Holland, Russia, and the Philippines. The European countries occupy twenty-eight out of seventy-four plates, and are thus considerably more prominent than in the antiquated Ch'ing dynasty lists based on Ming sources, in which the European countries are almost lost to view among the numerous small states of Southeast Asia and India. Considering this prominence given the Europeans, it is surprising how little is recorded in this work concerning them. First of all, there is great confusion as to the European states. The Great Western Ocean country is identified both with Ricci and the Pope and with the Portuguese at Macao
12 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS CHINA'S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 13 Modern France is again confused with Fo-lang-chi or the Portugal of the was the same as the Fo-lang-chi (Portugal)of the Ming period;that under Ming period.England and Sweden are recorded as countries dependent the influence of Matteo Ricci,the great Jesuit,the French had been induced upon Holland.In religious matters,the Portuguese-French are reported to to give up Macao to the Portuguese,even though France was ten times as have been Buddhist countries before they accepted Catholicism,and the strong.15 France,of course,had never held Macao.This whole cock-and- Pope is said to have come from Italy to present tribute in 1725. bull story probably illustrates the Paul Bunyan quality taken on by the The characterization of the Western barbarians stresses superficialities: legend of Matteo Ricci,who had already become the tutelary deity of "their flesh is dazzling white,and their noses are lofty ..their custom clocks in China (known popularly as Li-ma-tou p'u-sa). is to esteem women and think lightly of men.Marriages are left to mutual The lack of real intercourse.This vagueness of the Confucian mind re- arrangement.The men are violent and tyrannical and skilled in the use of garding the West was no doubt a product of lack of interest and lack of weapons.They wear short coats and tip their black felt hats as a sign of contact,combined with genuine distaste.Outland merchants on the fringe politeness.The Swedes and the Englishmen like to take snuff,which they of the empire were more often heard of than seen.Printed sources of in- carry in little containers made of golden thread." formation regarding them were few and out of date.As merchants they In view of the trouble which the Manchu court had already had with the were beneath attention,and as barbarians with powerful arms they were no British at Canton,the scant attention given to England is particularly note- doubt easier to forget about entirely.The Westerners in China had never worthy:"This barbarian people's clothing and adornment resemble those been numerous,and in the eighteenth century they were effectively quaran- of a country which is very wealthy.The males mostly wear wool and love tined.The decadent,part-half-caste community of Macao remained walled to drink wine.The females,when they have not yet married,bind their off on its peninsula;the Thirteen Factories at Canton were outside the waists,desiring that they be slender.They wear disheveled hair which hangs city walls,from which foreigners were excluded.All contact with foreign over their eyebrows,short clothing and layers of skirts.When they go out merchants was mediated through a special class of compradores,linguists, for a walk,then they add a big coat."1s shroffs and Chinese merchants,as well as through a special language. Rather curiously,space is devoted to central European countries like Semanticists have paid too little attention to this early international Hungary and Poland,whose people are said to resemble Mongols.The language of eastern Asia,known as pidgin,that is,business,English.This Hungarians ride on horseback,educate their women,and are rich in natural medium of communication was the bastard offspring of Portuguese,Chinese, resources of livestock and metals.Poland is very cold and the people wear and English,with numerous local additions.It followed the Chinese word furs.Presumably this sort of information was secured by the Chinese order,which fortunately agreed with that of English,and it included compilers from Russian rather than Cantonese sources.Russia is said cor- duplicatives like chop-chop (quick),in the Chinese fashion.From the rectly to have presented tribute in 1676 and to have made a boundary agree- Portuguese came words like joss (dios),which by the nineteenth century ment in 1689. produced "joss-pidgin man"for missionary.From the Anglo-Indian cul- The illustrations in this work are obviously copied by Chinese artists ture were added words like chit and tifin.In general this language from foreign originals.The Europeans have Chinese eyes,but authentic amounted to a translation of Chinese into a restricted international vocabu- Western costumes.One interesting sociological reference is to the "Black- lary.Since all aspects of life,from table-talk to homicide,and philosophy, devil slaves"(hei-kuei-nu)born in the islands beyond the seas,who serve were discussed during the East India Company period in this medium,it the Dutch.14 But the final effect,after the major states of Southeast Asia is small wonder that cultural understanding did not proceed more rapidly.b have been listed,is an utter and indiscriminate confusion among the bar- barians of England,France,Sweden,Japan,Borneo,Johore,Holland, b Pidgin English,being spoken and not written,changed rapidly with the passage of time.Carl Crow gives this Russia,Sungora,Cambodia,Spain in the Philippines,Java,Malacca,and Taipan: stop godown inside? Compradore:Lat (that)cargo be no can walkee just now.Lt man Kong Tal (the purchaser) Sumatra. he no got ploper sclew (security)." How long this confusion persisted was strikingly shown by the imperial Taipan:"How come you talkee sclew no ploper?My have sot sclew paper safe inside." commissioner Ch'i-ying in November 1844,just after he had negotiated bscondri ta hinternd paper be no can do.Lat sclew man he bave go Ningpo Comprado the treaties with Britain,the United States,and France which opened China Modern linguistic nhows the characteristic pidinEnglhofliked"(top to the West.No one in China should have been better informed than he setimetytmeme) 一fashion”(mric-fashion,bgw-fashion), about the barbarians.He explained to the emperor that France (Fo-lan-ksi) water,ooksee for look at or watch over,"more-proper for better,"have-talkee for said or told, oper"for better,"have-talkee"for said or told, was usually a question.and-answer dialogue
12 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS Modern France is again confused with Fo-lang-chi or the Portugal of the Ming period. England and Sweden are recorded as countries dependent upon Holland. In religious matters, the Portuguese-French are reported to have been Buddhist countries before they accepted Catholicism, and the Pope is said to have come from Italy to present tribute in 1725. The characterization of the Western barbarians stresses superficialities: "their flesh is dazzling white, and their noses are lofty . . . their custom is to esteem women and think lightly of men. Marriages are left to mutual arrangement. The men are violent and tyrannical and skilled in the use of weapons. They wear short coats and tip their black felt hats as a sign of politeness. The Swedes and the Englishmen like to take snuff, which they carry in little containers made of golden thread." In view of the trouble which the Manchu court had already had with the British at Canton, the scant attention given to England is particularly noteworthy: "This barbarian people's clothing and adornment resemble those of a country which is very wealthy. The males mostly wear wool and love to drink wine. The females, when they have not yet married, bind their waists, desiring that they be slender. They wear disheveled hair which hangs over their eyebrows, short clothing and layers of skirts. When they go out for a walk, then they add a big coat." 13 Rather curiously, space is devoted to central European countries like Hungary and Poland, whose people are said to resemble Mongols. The Hungarians ride on horseback, educate their women, and are rich in natural resources of livestock and metals. Poland is very cold and the people wear furs. Presumably this sort of information was secured by the Chinese compilers from Russian rather than Cantonese sources. Russia is said correctly to have presented tribute in 1676 and to have made a boundary agreement in 1689. The illustrations in this work are obviously copied by Chinese artists from foreign originals. The Europeans have Chinese eyes, but authentic Western costumes. One interesting sociological reference is to the "Blackdevil slaves" (hei-kuei-nu) born in the islands beyond the seas, who serve the Dutch.14 But the final effect, after the major states of Southeast Asia have been listed, is an utter and indiscriminate confusion among the barbarians of England, France, Sweden, Japan, Borneo, Johore, Holland, Russia, Sungora, Cambodia, Spain in the Philippines, Java, Malacca, and Sumatra. How long this confusion persisted was strikingly shown by the imperial commissioner Ch'i-ying in November 1844, just after he had negotiated the treaties with Britain, the United States, and France which opened China to the West. No one in China should have been better informed than he about the barbarians. He explained to the emperor that France (Fo-lan-hsi) CHIN A"S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 13 was the same as the Fo-lang-chi (Portugal) of the Ming period; that under the influence of Matteo Ricci, the great Jesuit, the French had been induced to give up Macao to the Portuguese, even though Franc~ was ten times as strong.15 France, of course, had never held Macao. This whole cock-andbull story probably illustrates the Paul Bunyan quality taken on by the legend of Matteo Ricci, who had already become the tutelary deity of clocks in China (known popularly as Li-ma-tou p'u-sa). The lack oj real intercourse. This vagueness of the Confucian mind regarding the West was no doubt a product of lack of interest and lack of contact, combined with genuine distaste. Outland merchants on the fringe of the empire were more often heard of than seen. Printed sources of information regarding them were few and out of date. As merchants they were beneath attention, and as barbarians with powerful arms they were no doubt easier to forget about entirely. The Westerners in China had never been numerous, and in the eighteenth century they were effectively quarantined. The decadent, part-haH-caste community of Macao remained walled off on its peninsula; the Thirteen Factories at Canton were outside the city walls, from which foreigners were excluded. All contact with foreign· merchants was mediated through a special class of compradores, linguists, shroffs and Chinese merchants, as well as through a special language. Semanticists have paid too little attention to this early international language of eastern Asia, known as pidgin, that is, business,English. This medium of communication was the bastard offspring of Portuguese, Chinese, and Eqglish, with numerous local additions. It followed the Chinese word order, which fortunately agreed with that of English, and it included duplicatives like chop-chop (quick), in the Chinese fashion. From the Portuguese came words like joss (dios), which by the nineteenth century produced "joss-pidgin man" for missionary. From the Anglo-Indian culture were added words like chit and tiffin. In general this language amounted to a translation of Chinese into a restricted international vocabulary. Since all aspects of life, from table-talk to homicide .and philosophy, were discussed during the East India Company period in this medium, it is small wonder that cultural understanding did not proceed more rapidly.b b Pidgin English, being spoken and not written, changed rapidly with the passage of time. Carl Crow gives this example from the more recent past: Taipan: "How fashion that chow-chow (miscellaneous) cargo he iust now stop godown inside?" Compradore: "'Lat (that) cargo he no can walkee iust now. 'Lat man Kong Tai (the purchaser) he no got ploper sclew (security)." Taipan: "How come you talkee sclew no ploper? My have got sclew paper safe inside." Compradore: "Aiyah I 'Lat sclew paper he no can do. 'Lat sclew man he have go Ningpo more far (i.e., absconded into the hinterland)." . Modern linguistic analysis shows the characteristic pidgin English use of suffixes like " - side" (topside, bund-side), "-time" (plenty-time, what-time), "-fashion" (,merican-fashion, how-fashion), ,,_ piecee" (three-piecee rickshaws) as well as the use of compounds like "chow-water" for drinking water, "look-see" for look at or watch over, "more-proper" for better, "have-talkee" for said or told, "makee-die" for die, etc., etc. Conversation in pidgin was usually a question-and-answer dialogue
14 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS The European tribute embassies which penetrated the veil of Chinese exclusiveness were relatively few and far between.After the first abortive Portuguese embassy of I520-2I there were only about seventeen Western Kq eqequzzoK missions,so far as we now know,which got as far as an audience with the emperor (see Table 2).They all occurred in the years between 1655 and Tw 1795,and six of them were from Russia,an Asiatic power in a somewhat pened pIoI 日 different category from the maritime West.There were four from Portugal, after the first one;three (or perhaps four)from Holland;three from the 866 Papacy;and one from Britain under Lord Macartney in 1793.All but the last appear to have performed the kotow.(The second British ambassador, Lord Amherst,in I816 failed to obtain audience.)Of these various embas- sies only four occurred after 1727 and the last one,that of the Dutch in 1795,fitted perfectly into the traditional tributary system.18 The estab- lished order was not challenged by this contact. 5 Russian relations with China had also fitted into the tributary pattern: (s the treaty of 1727 set up two trading posts on the Russo-Chinese frontier and allowed a caravan of two hundred merchants to visit Peking once in SC[OOIN nosoLW (uB two years.A permanent mission was allowed to stay in Peking and did so, very quietly,for more than a century until after 1858.In it a handful of 80 889. 66-8691 营 Russian Orthodox priests ministered to a secluded community of less than two hundred Russians(originally composed of prisoners of war)but made no effort to seek Chinese converts.The language students sent to study in the mission produced some results,like the dictionary of Archimandrite Palladius (1817-1878).But until the middle of the nineteenth century, Russian policy toward China remained quiescent and this rather mysterious little outpost in Peking continued inactive.20 The only other Western contact aside from trade was that of the Catholic UIOoH UEA aald missionaries.After 1725,however,the Jesuits'defeat in the famous rites controversy,and the Son of Heaven's denial of the Pope's oecumenical claims,had made them impotent at Peking,long before their dissolution in 蓝 Europe in 1773.The Lazarists who succeeded the Jesuits at Peking in the late eighteenth century did not become influential.As of r8oo the Christian converts in China,all Catholic,numbered somewhere between one-fifth and one-quarter of a million.Their priests (about thirty Europeans and eighty Chinese)still suffered spasmodic persecution:in I814 the Vicar Apostolic in West China was beheaded,in I816 a French priest was executed at Chang- sha,and in 1819 a French Lazarist at Wuchang.The scientific mission at between master and servant:"Boy,just-now missy have-got,no-have-got?"(Boy,is your mistress here ap [aouep now?)."Ye,no-have-got"(No,she Is not.)1 olgr -the feat would require "a head of oak,lungs of brass,nerves of steel,a constitution of iron,the patlence of Job,and the lifetime of Methuselah."The result was a compromise on pidgin,which still persists in Hongkong
14 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS The European tribute embassies which penetrated the veil of Chinese exclusiveness were relatively few and far between. After the first abortive Portuguese embassy of 152o-2I there were only about seventeen Western missions, so far as we now know, which got as far as an audience with the emperor (see Table 2). They all occurred in the years between 1655 and 1795, and six of them were from Russia, an Asiatic power in a somewhat different category from the maritime West. There were four from Portugal, after the first one; three (or per haps four) from Holland; three from the Papacy; and one from Britain under Lord Macartney in 1793. All but the last appear to have performed the kotow. (The second British ambassador, Lord Amherst, in 1816 failed to obtain audience.) Of these various embassies only four occurred after 1727 and the last one, that of the Dutch in 1795, fitted perfectly into the traditional tributary system,18 The established order was not challenged by this contact. Russian relations with China had also fitted into the tributary pattern: the treaty of 1727 set up two trading posts on the Russo-Chinese frontier and allowed a caravan of two hundred merchants to visit Peking once in two years. A permanent mission was allowed to stay in Peking and did so, very quietly, for more than a century until after 1858. In it a handful of Russian Orthodox priests ministered to a secluded community of less than two hundred Russians (originally composed of prisoners of war) but made no effort to seek Chinese converts. The language students sent to study in the mission produced some results, like the dictionary of Archimandrite Palladius (r8I7-1878). But until the middle of the nineteenth century, Russian policy toward China remained quiescent and this rather mysterious little outpost in Peking continued inactive.20 The only other Western contact aside from trade was that of the Catholic missionaries. After 1725, however, the Jesuits' defeat in the famous rites controversy, and the Son of Heaven's denial of the Pope's oecumenical claims, had made them impotent at Peking, long before their dissolution in Europe in 1773. The Lazarists who succeeded the Jesuits at Peking in the late eighteenth century did not become influential. As of r800 the Christian converts in China, all Catholic, numbered somewhere between one-fifth and one-quarter of a million. Their priests (about thirty Europeans and eighty Chinese) still suffered spasmodic persecution: in 1814 the Vicar Apostolic in West China was beheaded, in r8r6 a French priest was executed at Changsha, and in 1819 a French Lazarist at Wuchang. The scientific mission at between master and servant: "Boy, just-now missy have-got, no-have-got?" (Boy, is your mistress here now?). "Yes, no-have-got" (No, she is noL),lO On the other hand, until late in the nineteenth century, it was considered practically impossible for foreigners in the treaty ports (except perhaps missionaries with divine assistance) to master Chinese - the feat would require "a head of oak, lungs of brass, nerves of steel, a constitution of' iron, the patience of Job, and the lifetime of Methuselah." 17 The result was a compromise on pidgin, which still persists in Hongkong. < H Ul Ul P ~ H N 6 N V) ... ~ o '" c.:J » .0 ...., ~ (I) ! "CI 5::.1 ...:I ..... 'D H C<) H
16 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS CHINA'S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 17 Peking was reduced to six timid Lazarists and an aged Jesuit.The revived three bridges and its city water pipes providing clear water to the inhabi- activity of the Jesuits in the nineteenth century,which centered in the tants.England also has a great many prostitutes;but illegitimate children Lower Yangtze (based at Zikawei outside Shanghai)did not begin until the have to be reared and they do not dare to destroy them.Men and women Opium War.Protestant missions in China were to be a vigorous new growth both wear white clothes but black for mourning.Military officers wear red radiating from the treaty ports.But until that time the representatives of and women wear narrow-waisted dresses,tight above and full below.On Christianity were in no position to influence the tone and trend of Chinese festive occasions the young and pretty girls dress up and perform dances thought about the West.21 All in all,the first decades of the nineteenth cen- to the accompaniment of singing.The army is organized in squads of five tury seem to have been a low point in Sino-European relations at Peking, and companies of twenty and relies chiefly on the technique of volley-firing where the Catholic and Russian missions remained almost vestigial (lien-huan-ch'iang).When their trading junks go overseas to trade and Examples of barbarian lore.In this situation a body of folklore grew up meet a ship in distress they have to send boats to succor it,feed the sur- concerning the new overseas barbarians.A number of Chinese are known vivors and return them to their countries under penalty of law,such is to have reached Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,chiefly the excellence of their administration.Otherwise,their customs are similar under Jesuit auspices,but none of them described Europe to their country- to the rest of Europe.Their products include metals,woolen goods,and men in any written record,so far as is known.22 It remained for the more the like.25 extensive contact of Sino-European commerce to produce such descrip- Hsieh states that North America,about ten days to the west of England, tions.23 The type of information about the West available through the is also an isolated island,rather small,with customs similar to the English, Chinese junk trade to Southeast Asia is recorded in an interesting work de- to whom it once belonged,and with similar products.The Americans are rived from a blind interpreter at Macao named Hsieh Ch'ing-kao.During chiefly distinguished for their steamers,which have a fire box in the hold his youth this man had traveled abroad for fourteen years (1782-95)and and (paddle)wheels turned by the fire,which makes the boat go without learned the languages and customs of the Southern Ocean (Nan-yang) human effort.He also says that no American has two wives,whether king region.In r82o a Cantonese literatus named Yang Ping-nan used Hsieh as or commoner.20 an informant and compiled the Hai-ls(A maritime record).This work sys- Another work which reflects the learning of the time was the Yuek hai- tematically presents sailing directions and brief descriptions concerning kuan chik (Gazetteer of the maritime customs of Kwangtung),compiled by more than sixty countries or trading ports on the routes around the Malay Liang T'ing-nan at the time of the first war with England.This is a sys- peninsula to India and through the Philippines to the East Indies,conclud- tematic treatise on the history and administration of the Canton customs ing with a third section on the countries of the Great Western Ocean.The with sections on tributary trade and the overseas nations.This work seems authentic first-hand quality of the work is indicated by its description of the to have been based partly on previous publications and partly on archival British at Singapore and Penang and their eclipse of the Dutch at Malacca, records and must have been regarded as a most authoritative source in its which had occurred in 1819.24 In this first-hand account many romanizations day.It discloses a few facts about the British,including the following: are made de novo,representing both Portuguese influence and Hsieh's England was once a dependency of Holland but became rich and strong Cantonese accent.Except for Portugal,the sections on Europe seem ob- and eventually her enemy.In England there is a mountain which produces viously based on hearsay,but this work was later used by the famous black lead (lit.,graphite,or coal?);people mine it and pay duties to the Chinese geographers of the 184o's,Wei Yuan and Hsti Chi-yui (see Chap- officials.Liang's general description also mentions ports and fortresses and ters II and I5 below),and its comments on the British represent one strand a series of recent rulers named Ching-yeh-chik ("George").In summariz- of early nineteenth-century barbarian lore. ing certain highlights of Sino-British relations in the preceding hundred Hsieh says that the British population is rather thin but extremely years,he emphasizes the British request to present tribute in 1792,the wealthy.Their houses are many-storied and they make their living by mari- receipt of twenty-nine different items of tribute presents in 1793,and the time trade and the establishment of overseas bases.The population give gifts bestowed by the emperor in return.Ch'ien-lung's famous edicts to Brit- the king military service from the ages of fifteen to sixty,and they also ain are quoted at length.Liang then states that in 1796 England presented train foreign armies,so that their nation,although small,has strong military some "yellow colored broadcloth of a new sort"as tribute (presumably forces of more than one hundred thousand men and other overseas coun- sent from Canton by the East India Company).Communications from the tries fear it.Hsieh also describes London as a great emporium,with its British in 1804 are quoted as"tributary memorials"and the dispute with
16 CHINA'S UNPREPAREDNESS Peking was reduced to six timid Lazarists and an aged Jesuit. The revived activity of the Jesuits in the nineteenth century, which centered in the Lower Yangtze (based at Zikawei outside Shanghai) did not begin until the Opium War. Protestant missions in China were to be a vigorous new growth radiating from the treaty ports. But until that time the representatives of Christianity were in no position to influence the tone and trend of Chinese thought about the West.21 All in all, the first decades of the nineteenth century seem to have been a low point in Sino-European relations at Peking, where the Catholic and Russian missions remained almost vestigial. Examples of barbarian lore. In this situation a body of folklore grew up concerning the new overseas barbarians. A number of Chinese are known to have reached Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, chiefly under Jesuit auspices, but none of them described Europe to their countrymen in any written record, so far as is known.22 It remained for the more extensive contact of Sino-European commerce to produce such descriptions.23 The type of information about the West available through the Chinese junk trade to Southeast Asia is recorded in an interesting work derived from a blind interpreter at Macao named Hsieh Ch'ing-kao. During his youth this man had traveled abroad for fourteen years (1782-95) and learned the languages and customs of the Southern Ocean (Nan-yang) region. In 1820 a Cantonese literatus named Yang Ping-nan used Hsieh as an informant and compiled the Hai-lu (A maritime record). This work systematically presents sailing directions and brief descriptions concerning more than sixty countries or trading ports on the routes around the Malay peninSUla to India and through the Philippines to the East Indies, concluding with a third section on the countries of the Great Western Ocean. The authentic first-hand quality of the work is indicated by its description of the British at Singapore and Penang and their eclipse of the Dutch at Malacca, which had occurred in 1819.24 In this first-hand account many romanizations are made de novo, representing both Portuguese influence and Hsieh's Cantonese accent. Except for Portugal, the sections on Europe seem obviously based on hearsay, but this work was later used by the famous Chinese geographers of the 1840'S, Wei Yuan and Hsii Chi-yii (see Chapters II and 15 below), and its comments on the British represent one strand of early nineteenth-century barbarian lore. Hsieh says that the British population is rather thin but extremely wealthy. Their houses are many-storied and they make their living by maritime trade and the establishment of overseas bases. The population give the king military service from the ages of fifteen to sixty, and they also train foreign armies, so that their nation, although small, has strong military forces of more than one hundred thousand men and other overseas countries fear it. Hsieh also describes London as a great emporium, with its CHINA)S RESPONSE TO THE WEST 17 three bridges and its city water pipes providing clear water to the inhabitants. England also has a great many prostitutes; but illegitimate children have to be reared and they do not dare to destroy them. Men and women both wear white clothes but black for mourning. Military officers wear red and women wear narrow-waisted dresses, tight above and full below. On festive occasions the young and pretty girls dress up and perform dances to the accompaniment of singing. The army is organized in squads of five and companies of twenty and relies chiefly on the technique of volley-firing (? lien-huan-ch'iang). When their trading junks go overseas to trade and meet a ship in distress they have to send boats to succor it, feed the survivors and return them to their countries under penalty of law, such is the excellence of their administration. Otherwise, their customs are similar to the rest ,of Europe. Their products include metals, woolen goods, and the like.25 Hsieh states that North America, about ten days to the west of England, is also an isolated island, rather small, with customs similar to the English, to whom it once belonged, and with similar products. The Americans are chiefly distinguished for their steamers, which have a fire box in the hold and (paddle) wheels turned by the fire, which makes the boat go without human effort. He also says that no American has two wives, whether king or commonet.26' Another work which reflects the learning of the time was the Yueh haikuan chih (Gazetteer of the maritime customs of Kwangtung), compiled by Liang T'ing-nan at the time of the first war with England. This is a systematic treatise on the history and administration of the Canton customs with sections on tributary trade and the overseas nations. This work seems to have been hased partly on previous publications and partly on archival records and must have been regarded as a most authoritative source in its day. It discloses a few facts about the British, including the following: England was once a dependency of Holland but became rich and strong and eventually her enemy. In England there is a mountain which produces black lead (lit., graphite, or coal?); people mine it and pay duties to the officials. Liang's general description also mentions ports and fortresses and a series of recent rulers named Ching-yeh-chih ("George"). In summarizing certain highlights of Sino-British relations in the preceding hundred years, he emphasizes the British request to present tribute in 1792, the receipt of twenty-nine different items of tribute presents in 1793, and the gifts bestowed by the emperor in return. Ch'ien-Iung's famous edicts to Britain are quoted at length. Liang then states that in 1796 England presented some "yellow colored broadcloth of a new sort" as tribute (presumably sent from Canton by the East India Company). Communications from the British in 1804 are quoted as "tributary memorials" and the dispute with