Ningpo to Shanghai in 1857/Tai-chew-fong-ling to the Confucian Pass
At the Tai-chew-fong-ling the road breaks off from the direct course to the town of Kwang-fuh-tze, or Kwang-fuzzy, as it is called by the natives, and runs through some beautifully cultivated woodland country, along the ridges of hills towards Le-san-yow, a hamlet of forty five families. The Geologist has fine subject here for the study of the various stratæ;—first of what might be called yellow grey granite,—then lime stone rock—then again decomposed granite of a red brown colour;—the hills being variously cultivated with bamboo, plum and fir trees, or maize, and the sedges whose leaves, are used in lining tea chests. The wood cutters sell a species of beech nut, too, oily in the fruit, and as brown as if exposed to the action of fire. But the road is very narrow here, in some places not wider than a man's foot, and generally impassable excepting on dry sunny days.
From Le-san-yow to Toong-haen a large village of 100 families on both sides of a valley, the distance is about five le in a W.N.Wly. direction. There are two taverns at Toong-haen, where travellers can quarter;—and as there is no monastery, and no priest, so there is no choice, and the best must be made of the miserable accomodations at command. The valley here, running from W. S. W. to E. N.E. is about a quarter of a mile across, and in beautiful cultivation;—but, unused to the sight of foreigners, and at no great distance from the scene of active operations between the Rebels and Imperialists, the reception accorded to foreigners, at first, is mingled with what appears to be distrust of his intentions.*
From Toong-haen to Koo-he-qui-show, a small hamlet in a north-easterly direction the distance is about four miles. Before reaching this hamlet, however, the traveller crosses from the Anwhui into the Chekiang province again, by the Koon-foo-kwan or Confucian pass—a gorge about sixty yards across, with a broad military causeway, thirty feet wide, having, on one side, a granite built arched gateway, through which, with determined soldiers for its maintenance, a passage could not be easily forced (26). For good distances each side of the pass the valley is narrow and capable of affording tentage accomodation for as many troops as would be requisite either in defence or assault. On the An-whuy side of the pass is a small temple dedicated to Confucius, and, rarely seen, a small gilt image of the honoured Sage, to which homage is paid as to a god.
* Finding that enquiries regarding the fighting bands were not palateable, they were not persisted in. The information given, too, was most contradictory By one it would be asserted that Ning-kwoh foo was in the hands of the insurgents; by another that it never had been in their possession; by a third that it had, but was evacuated. The last tale was afterwards found to be the true one. An Imperialist Soldier came to Ningpo bringing from Ningkwoh foo certain of the Patriot Books of religious doctrine, and in one of them was found the following ode.—
| "Praise the Lord above, the great high Ruler, |
| The really true holy Father of holy heaven, |
| The Father of souls, |
| The one only true God, |
| The one only holy God, |
| Praise the Celestial Elder Brother. |
| The really true holy Saviour of the world |
| The first born Son |
| Who gave his life for men. |
| Praise the Celestial King, |
| The true-appointed, true and holy Lord of all nations, |
| The Governor T'hae-Ping. |
| Praise the Eastern King, |
| The holy Lord who redeems from sickness, |
| The true and holy Wind of God, |
| The true and holy Spirit. |
| Praise the Western King, |
| The holy Rain of God, |
| The true and honourable man of high heaven. |
| Praise the Southern King, |
| The holy Clouds of God, |
| The true and upright man of high heaven. |
| Praise the Northern King, |
| The holy Thunder of God, |
| The true and benevolent man of high heaven. |
| Praise the Assistant King, |
| The holy Lightning of God, |
| The true and righteous man of high heaven." |
"The reader will observe that the five Kings here enumerated are designated respectively the wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning, of God. Thus they speak of the five elements, water, fire, wood, metal, and earth; the five virtues, benevolence, uprightness, propriety, wisdom 智, and sincerity; the five relations, of prince and minister, of father and son, of elder and younger brothers, of husband and wife, and of friend and friend; the five colors, green, yellow, red, white, and black; the five cardinal points, east, south, west, north, and centre, &c., &c. The number of their kings, as well as their names, Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern, seem to have been suggested in this way, though there is a want of completeness in the fifth's not being designated central. But the designations of wind rain, clouds. thunder, and lightning, given to these kings are new, and seem to have been suggested by a misapprehension of the circumstance that, in the Christian books, from which they had derived so many of their ideas, the expression for the Holy Spirit is sometimes, "The Wind of God." Instead of understanding this expression as synonymous with Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit, they seem to regard it as the symbol of this idea. Accordingly as they had been led to bestow upon the Eastern King, on account of his searching wisdom, extended influence and controlling power the title of Holy Spirit, which was symbolized by the wind, the idea was suggested of representing the virtues ascribed to his associates by the associated terms of rain clouds thuder, and lightning. This explanation may seem to some fanciful, but I have not been able to find a better one." Warmly interested in the rebellion, and viewing, with regret, the general apathy in China regarding it, we take this opportunity to republish the Reverend Dr Medhurst's—
CRITIQUE ON THE 'IMPERIAL DECLARATION OF THAE-PING."
This pamphlet consist of two odes and two essays. The first is entitled "an ode on the origin of virtue and the saving of the world." does not much answer to the name it bears. The first line, indeed, tells us that the origin of virtue is from Heaven, by which is meant God; and then the author goes on to talk about virtue and God, in rather an unconnected strain; but from beginning to end of the ode we hear nothing about the saving of the world, nor is the name or work of the Saviour once alluded to. We must ascribe something of this rambling forgetfulness to the fact of the author having to compose in rhyme, which has made him more attentive to the harmonical succession of sounds, than to the theme with which he professed to start. Notwithstanding, however, its want of connection. and the awkwardness with which the ode necessarily reads in a translation, there are many important truths, and some splendid passages to be met with therein, which in a great measure redeem its character.
In the commencement of the ode the author maintains the unity of God, who, he says, is the common parent of all, and to whom from the earliest ages down to a period approaching the Christian era, both princes and people gave special honor. On this he grounds the exhortation to all, to unite in worshipping him, from whom every fibre and thread, every drop and sop come, and to whom our daily devotions should be paid. To worship any other being, the author says, would be as vain, as it is sinful: he created all the elements of nature, every breath we draw depends on him, no other being can interfere with his arrangements, and to no one else can be ascribed the honour of our creation. Idols, it is affirmed, are only recent inventions; creation, therefore, could not have originated with them. Growing eloquent in his pleadings for God, the author tells us, "He warms us by his sun, He moistens us by his rain, He moves the thunderbolt, He scatters the wind;" let us act, therefore, like honest men, and give to God the honour which is due to him alone. The poet then proceeds to inveigh against lewdness, which he says calls down on those who practise it the wrath of Heaven, and brings with it its own punishment. He therefore exhorts his readers to immediate reformation, and refers them to the four prohibitions against improprieties, given out by a disciple of Confucius, who forbad the looking upon, the listening to, the talking about, or the imagining of any uncleanness.
His next exhortation is to filial piety, which he urges from the example of the inferior animals, saying that if we neglect this obvious duty, we show ourselves to be worse than the brutes. The poet then exhorts to the imitation of superior men, such as the great Shun, who moved Heaven with his filial piety; he reminds his readers of their obligations to their parents, which by their utmost effort they never can repay; and concludes by a motive of the strongest kind, saying, that in obeying our parents we shew our obedience to God
The 5th commandment having been disposed of, the writer proceeds to the 6th, and prohibits murder, on the ground that all men are brethren, and that their souls come alike from God, who views all mankind as his children; various examples are then given from Chinese history of the regard for human life, or the want of it, which was manifested by celebrated men, and of the recompense which followed it.
Offenses against the 8th commandment then occupy the poet's attention, and theft is denounced as contrary to benevolence. After relating various instances of upright principle exhibited by the Chinese worthies of antiquity, the poet says, "From of old the honest and good have cultivated virtuous principles; riches and honours are but fleeting clouds, that cannot be depended upon; if by killing one innocent person, or doing one act of unrighteousness, the ancient worthies could obtain empire, they would not allow themselves to practise it."
The poet then denounces witchcraft and magic arts; life and death, he says, are determined by Heaven, why then deceive people by the manufactures of charms; wizards and necromancers have always involved the world in poverty: the devil's agents have done service to devils, and the gates of hell stand open to receive them.
Gambling comes in for a share of the poet's reprobation: the vicious gamester, he says, conceals the dagger with which he strikes his victim, therefore we are to beware of a practice which is opposed to reason. The getting of unrighteous gain, he avers, is like quenching one's thirst with poison: the more you gamble the poorer you become. Opium smoking is also condemned, upon which some people are so mad. In the present day, says our poet, many a noble son of Han has stabbed himself with the opium dagger. Wine has also ruined households, and rulers have perish d through their fondness for drink.
Some very excellent remarks follow, shewing the necessity of paying attention to the minutiœ of actions; for, says our author, if you do not regard small matters, you will at length spoil great virtues.
This ode concludes by an appeal to the people, on the ground of the writer's having ascended to heaven; on which account he says, his words are entitled to credence.
The second poetical piece is entitled "an ode of correctness," which is principally a play upon the word correct, that term, either in its positive or negative form occurring 60 times. This poem contains various allusions to Chinese history, illustrative of the possession of correct principle, or the want of it. It may be interesting to a native reader, but it contains nothing worthy of notice by foreigners.
Then follow two prose productions, the first entitled, "An essay on the origin of virtue for the awakening of the age." It contains many truths liberal in their principle and new to the Chinese; the sentences are somewhat tautological, to an extent that would not be tolerated in English composition, but the sentiments are congenial to every right feeling.
The writer begins by denouncing narrowness of mind, as exhibited in local likes and dislikes, and after ringing the changes on this subject throught a page or two, he proceeds to tell us that the ancient sages of China made no difference between one country and another, but viewed all alike. Having sufficiently illustrated these points, he tell us that God is the universal Father, that China and foreign nations are all equally under his rule and that all men are brethren. After quoting a passage from Confucius, illustrative of a happy state of society, said to have prevailed in his days, the writer laments that "now, such a state of society is hardly to be looked for; nevertheless when disorder is at its utmost height, order is sometimes elicited, and the unfeeling world is occassionally rendered loving." The second prose production begins with the statement that all men have one origin, both as it regards their bodies, being sprung from one ancestor; and as it regards their souls, which have all come from the original breath of God; thus all under heaven belong to one family, and should all regard each other as brethren. The writer then goes on to combat the erroneous notion current in China, that the king of Hades determined life and death: this king of Hades, he says, is no other than the old serpent, the Devil.* He then lays down a method by which men may judge the correctness of principles, and avers that those which are diffused through all ages and countries are generally right, while parital and private views are to be suspected: but the principle above stated he adds is found neither in Chinese nor foreign classics, but in the Buddhist and Taouist books and therefore concludes that it must be wrong. This is not the first time, he continues, that lies have been invented in China: for the ruler of the Tsin dynasty imagined the existence of fairies; Kwang-woo, of the Han dynasty, sacrificed to the kitchen; people of later ages pretended that the dragon produced rain; whereas rain, it was evident came directly from heaven. Then we have some references to the Old Testament, about the forty days rain in the time of Noah, causing the flood; which rain was sent down by God as a judgment upon a guilty world.† He goes on to say that a Buddhist book called the "pearly Record" also ascribes the power of life and death to the king of Hades; but the classics of China and foreign nations, he avers, all say that Heaven produced and nourished every thing, and that life and death are determined by fate, which is nothing else than the appointment of God. This appeal to foreign (by which is meant Christian) classics, as an authority in matters of faith, is a new thing in China: as is also the allusion to the 審判 shin-pwan judgment which God will enter into with the men of the world. The writer goes on to state, that because men aspire after longevity, and pant for good fortune, that therefore they are thus prone to believe lies. Thus errors creep in, and get possession of men's minds, and though God successively produces wise and holy men, to convey the truth to others, they will not lend an ear. Hence men, he says, are be wildered and ignorant of God, they are also stouthearted and do not fear him. If their descendants wish to get some knowledge of the truth, they do not know where to obtain it. Then follow some beautiful and correct statements regarding God, which we are tempted to exhibit in a condensed form. "Taking a general view of the world, we find that men though numerous are all created and supported by God; for every article of food and clothing they must depend on God, who is the universal Father of all mankind. Life and death, happiness and misery are all determined by him. When I look up to heaven, I perceive that the sun and moon, stars and planets, the thunder and rain, wind and clouds, are all the wondrous effects of his mighty power: when I survey the earth, I perceive that the hills and fountains, rivers and lakes, birds and beasts, plants and fishes, are all the marvellous productions of his mighty energies:" for this every man and women throughout the world, ought every morning to worship and every evening to adore him.
The writer then meets an objection, that though God is to be acknowledged as the sovereign of all, yet he must have various ministers to aid him in protecting mankind. To which he answers, that should such exist, they must all be appointed by God: but who ever heard of his appointing the idols which men are in the habit of worshipping? The writer concludes that God did, at the creation, appoint angels‡ to do his will; and if so, there is no need of idols, who are mere monstrosities, invested by mortals, in defiance of his authority. The author then takes up the same ground which a Christian missionary would assume in arguing image-worship in the ten commandments. According to the Old Testament, he says, God in former ages descended on Mount Sinai, and gave forth the ten commandments, written in his own hand on tables of stone; and with an audible voice commanded Moses, saying, 'I am the Lord God: thou shalt not set up the image of any thing in heaven or earth to bow down to it and worship it;' now your setting up images and worshipping them is a direct violation of the Divine command.§ He further argues, that since God has forbidden the worship of images, these could not be employed in assisting him in protecting mankind: and if God could make the world without their aid, he could surely preserve the world in existence without any assistance. The writer then states, in a way peculiarly Chinese, that God has made the ground on which we stand, and the food we eat; he also gives us sun and rain; deprived of his aid, we could not live a single moment; why then should we pray to idols? He then supposes an objector saying, 'but my idol is efficacious.' And says, in reply, that all our blessings come from the great God, while men erroneously suppose that they come from some corrupt devil. The associating with such, he continues, is not only an outrage against Heaven, but an offence against natural conscience, showing that the persons so acting are rebellious both against reason and religion. He then inculcates the duty of praying to the universal Father; and brings forward the promise of the Saviour, as an encouragement to its performance: quoting the well known passage contained in Matthew 7: 7. "ask and it shall be given you," &c: It is unworthy of observation, that in this quotation, the writer has copied almost exactly the version of Medhurst and Gutzlaff, published in 1835, the resemblances being nearly identical, as follows:—
After having exhorted his readers to pray to our heavenly Father, he points out the folly of addressing such applications to idols, quoting from Psalms 115:5, in which he imitates, in some degree, both Morrison's and Gutzlaff's version, with only a little transposition and omission, resulting probably from his having quoted from memory. Some reformers, he says, have occasionally sprung up, but the remedies applied were only partial: though idolatry was in some instances put down, in the majority of cases it was allowed to go on. Whereas, according to him, all these genii and fairies, superhuman and monstrous appearances, together with these impure rites and forbidden sacrifices, should have been discontinued; on the ground that besides the great God there is no spirit entitled to such honour as the Chinese have been accustomed to pay them.** All the images of wood and stone, which have been set up to represent these imaginary beings, are mere inventi ns of men, otherwise intelligent, who have allowed themselves to be deluded by the devil. The true spirit, he continues, is God; but those images which men are in the habit of worshipping represent only devils, the mass of whom consists of nameless noxious inventions, such as the spirits thought to preside over the various quarters of the world, and the myrmidons of the king of Hades. Having denounced these pretended spirits, he says most truly, the great God, (Hwang Shang-te) he is the God, (Te) and he alone is entitled to that appellation. Through a want of acquaintance with the Christian Scriptures, and certainly not with the view of sympathizing with the deniers of our Lord's divinity, with whom he never could have come in contact, the author of the pamphlet before us, says "that even Jesus, the first-born son of God, is only called our Lord, and is not called God;" who then he asks would dare to assume the designation of God? would he not for his blasphemous assumption be speedily consigned to hell He therefore exhorts his readers to worship God alone, and thus they will become his sons and daughters here, and obtain his blessing hereafter.
In closing our critique on this pamphlet, we shall, once of all, refer to the practice of the insurgents with regard to the word used for God. Having compared all the books printed by them, and brought by the Hermes from Nanking, we have drawn up the following list of the number of instances in which they have used words bearing any affinity to Shang-te, and T'heen for God; as contrasted with those in which they have employed Shin for God, or gods. We have also adduced the instances in which other terms are employed to designate the Lord of all, besides those that have any relation to either Shang-te or Shin; and we close our list by showing in how many cases the word Shin is used for angel, genii, and spirits. | I.—Instances in which Shang-te and its cognates have been used for God.— | |||
| Times. | |||
| Shang-te used for God by way of eminence, sometimes accompanied with the statement that Shang-te is one, and there is no other Shang-te but this one, | 175 | ||
| Hwang Shang-te | do | do. | 371 |
| Te | do. | do. | 17 |
| T'heen-te | do. | do. | 2 |
| T'heen | do. | do. | 100 |
| T'heen-foo | do. | do. | 194 |
| Hwang-t'heen | do. | do. | 2 |
| Hwang-t'heen Shang-te | do. | do. | 1 |
| Haou-t'heen | do. | do. | 2 |
| T'heen-kung | do. | do. | 1 |
| —865 | |||
| II.—Instances in which Shin is used for God, or gods:— | |||
| Shin used for God, or the Supreme Spirit, | 4 | ||
| Shin used for others besides the Supreme, | 2 | ||
| Chin shin, for the true God, or Spirit, | 18 | ||
| Seay-shin, for depraved gods, or spirits, | 14 | ||
| —38 | |||
| III.—Cases in which other terms are employed for the Lord of all:— | |||
| Shang-choo, used for Lord, | 52 | ||
| Choo-tsae | do. | 2 | |
| Jehovah, | 1 | ||
| Hwa-kung, creator, | 1 | ||
| —56 | |||
| IV.—Cases in which Shin is used for spirit, or enters into composition to express angel, genii, &c.:— | |||
| Shin, used for the Spirit of God, | 2 | ||
| Shing Shin fung, Holy Spirit, in which Shing, stands for holy, and Shing-fung for spirit, | 4 | ||
| Tsing-shin for animal spirit, | 2 | ||
| —8 | |||
| Shin-tseih, traces of spiritual beings, used in the sense of miracles, | 4 | ||
| Shin-seen, genii, | 8 | ||
| Shin-she angels, | 6 | ||
| Shin-chow, region of spirits, name for China in opposition to Kwei-fang, land of devils, used for Tartary, | 4 | ||
| Shin-yay, spiritual father, coupled with Hwan-foo, ghostly father, | 3 | ||
| —33 | |||
We have observed elsewhere, that the example of the insurgents is of little value as philological argument, because they borrowed their religious terms, as they did their views of doctrine, mainly from the foreigners who preceded them. Their practice, however, shows to what class of terms they felt most inclined; and from this we find that they employed Shang-te and its cognates for God by way of eminence, in almost every instance. This is indeed the rule observed in their books, while the use of him, in the same sense, is the exception.
* The phrase employed for expressing this latter idea is very similar to the one used in Medhurst's and Gutzlaff's versions of the New Testament, as may be seen by comparing them.
| Med's. & Gutz.'s vers: | Insurgents' vers. |
| 老 蛇 妖 鬼 | 老 蛇 魔 鬼 |
† The word used for "Old Testament" is the same as that employed by Morrison and Gutzlaff. The name of Noah corresponds to that used by Gutzlaff, viz: 挪亞 No-a, and not to Morrison and Afa, who employed 挼亞 No-a. In the mode of expressing the 40 days and 40 nights, the writer agrees more with the Morrison than Gutzlaff. So that he must have had both versions before him, or quoted by memory occasionally from one and the other, as he happened to recollect.
§ The characters used for expressing Sinai, are 西奈 Se nae, which are identical with those employed in Medhurst's and Gutzlaff's version of the New Testament: while Morrison's former edition, and Gutzlaff's more recent edition of the Old Testament, 西乃 Se-nae are employed. The word used for written 繕 shen, is found in Gutzlaff's, but in none other of the former versions. The phrase "I am the Lord God," is very similar to the one employed by Gutzlaff.
‖ The circumstance here alluded to is detailed in the Shoo-king, when "Shun directed his officers to cut off the connection between earth and heaven, and prevent the pretended descents of spirits." The Commentators say "that having been subject to oppression, the people, ignorant of its cause, had recourse to spirits, and sacrificed to demons. From this arose marvellous and lying stories, and men lapsed into error. According to the records of the country it appears, that in the decline of Shaou-haou's reign, the Kew Le threw the constant virtues into confusion, and thus men and spirits were mingled together; every family had its conjuror, and the people made profane use of sacrificial implements. In consequence of this men and spirits were thrown into confusion. History declares, that when a country is about to flourish, attention is paid to the people, and when it is about to perish, attention is paid to the spirits. On this account Shun prohibited the people from using magical arts in order to bring down the spirits. One says, that in a well-regulated age, spirits and elves do not appear, and people do not pray to the spirits; but in times of confusion people are much given up to spirits and elves they talk of necromancy and fourtune telling without end. The officers of Shun displayed the principles of enlightened virtue, that men might avoid being perverted by idle and superstitious fancies, and no longer seek for happiness from spirits For men are apt to err from correct principles when they become deluded by spiritual beings; but when they attend to the invariable principles of goodness, they seek for happiness in the way of constant virtue, and not in that of monstrous appearances." In the above remarks of the commentators, wherever the experession spirit, sprite, or spiritual being occurs, the word in the original is Shin.
¶ This change in the name of God, which excites so much the wrath of our author, is simply an alteration from the usual form Shang-te to Yuh-te: the former designation had been the name which was applied to God by the Chinese from time immemorial, and the latter was a name invented by the Taou sect, and used several hundred years before the time of Hwuy to designate an idol. After having spoken of changing the appellation, ching, or the great God. our author, in recurring to the subject, and in order to show his reverence for the Deity, says, that his honourable name (tsun haou) was changed. The phrase tsun haou in certain connections may perhaps be rendered a title of honour. But here the meaning evidently is "honorable name.'' We have a similar expression in the Three Character Classic of the Insurgents, where the phrase is inverted, but conveys the same meaning; "haou tsun tsung, his name is most honourable." It is not correct therefore to say, that the insurgents have indicated the fact that they use Hwang Shang-te as a title of honour. They have indicated no such fact: but they have used Hwang Shang-te, Shang-te and Te, precisely in the same way in which we use the word God. In Gutzlaff's version of Genesis, a portion of which they have reprinted, Shang-te is used as a translation of Elohim; in their version of the ten commandments, the insurgents have employed the same term where Elohim stands in the original; and no one, who had not some fond theory to carry out, would ever dream of the insurgents having used Shang-te in those cases as a title of honour.
** It is evident, from the context, that the writer by the word spirit here, means such spiritual beings as men have been in the habit of worshipping, but which he thinks are not entitled to that honour. That he could not mean to say, besides the great God there is no spiritual being, is plain, because he uses the word shin to designate not only the genii which have no real existence, but the spirits of men which have.