soon as the captain of the boat found it was coming aft, he placed some oranges before a hideous painted god, in the little altar, which all boats, ships, and shops, possess, lighted it up well, put some odoriferous matches in a vessel of sand, and set them on fire. “Now,” said he, “we sail hab fair win. Spose me tak care for Jos, Jos tak care for me.” I really thought the bargain a fair one; and both parties held honestly to their agreement, for we had a fair wind the remainder of the passage; but Jos, having a bad appetite, we “turned to” and eat up his supper, very much to the discomfiture of the captain.
WHAMPOA ISLAND.
It being Sunday, we attended a Bethel-meeting on board the ship Superior; the service being performed by the Rev. Mr. Stevens, who had just arrived from New Haven. We found, lying in Whampoa-reach, a great number of English and American vessels, extending from two to three miles. Whampoa, where the ships anchor, is between Dane and French islands, and part of the island of Whampoa. Foreigners are allowed to visit Danes’ island, but they are not allowed to visit the city of Whampoa, the suburbs being filled with vile wretches, who endeavour, upon every occasion, to create a quarrel, by using insulting language and throwing stones; and when they outnumber the foreigners, a hundred to one, they beat them with long bamboos, to the great risk of their lives. The land on Whampoa island, is generally very low, and banked, to keep out the tide. It is well cultivated with rice, cane, savo-root, and other vegetables. Several pagodas are in sight from the anchorage, and one that has been built “time out of mind,” is near the town of Whampoa, nine stories high.
CITY OF CANTON.
At noon, we left the shipping for Canton, and in three hours arrived at the factories, situated near the river, in the suburbs of the city of Canton. The river was thickly covered with boats going in all directions, from the humble sampan to the gay and splendid mandarin boats, having streamers flying, gongs beating, and manned with a great number of oars. Numberless boats were fishing, with every sort of apparatus; others conveying the harvest of rice home, sculled by two long oars, each manned by six stout fellows, the perspiration running down their almost naked bodies in streams.
Every foot of land is cultivated or covered with buildings; boats, without number, are moored along its banks the whole distance; but within three or four miles of the factories, the crowd of vessels was prodigious. Large men-of-war junks, of a most unwieldly and primitive construction; flower-boats, kept for infamous purposes; pleasure-boats; marriage-boats; and boats which carry bands of comedians, were lying in all directions. Many of them have beautiful lattice-work sides, painted green, and gilt with good taste. All the vessels on the river have one distinguishing mark, an immense large eye on each side of the bow. “How can you see,” say the Chinese, “spose hab no eye?” Small ferry-boats, the residence of whole families, are constantly plying between the city, or rather the suburbs, and Houani; also, boats laden with tea and silk goods, from the interior or going to Whampoa; market, victualling, and pedlars’ boats; boats of a peculiar construction, laden with oil in bulk; others filled with coarse China ware, bamboo hats, and baskets; umbrellas, and beautiful lanterns, covered with various devices; and every thing that can be named, from silks and teas to fat pups, fish-maws, and trussed rats.
The factories, or hongs, for foreign merchants, are pleasantly situated, fronting the only open space of ground within the suburbs. They are generally built in a neat style, but with slight pretensions to architecture.
The city of Canton is built on a plain, encircled by a high wall, at the foot of barren hills. I looked into the city through three of the gates; the streets present a corresponding appearance to those in the suburbs, being extremely narrow, and paved with hewn granite; the tops of the houses nearly united, so that bamboo poles are laid across from roof to roof, on which awnings are spread to protect the inhabitants from the intense heat of the sun. The common houses are extremely filthy; there is no circulation of air through them. Notwithstanding the extreme narrowness of the streets, (only two persons can conveniently pass,) fish-mongers and butchers, victuallers, and venders of Jos paper and Jos sticks, &c., are permitted to encumber them; so that when a lady, or lordly mandarin passes, in a sedan-chair, or a cooly, with his burden, the cry of ly, ly, (make room, make room,) is constantly ringing in your ears, to the great annoyance of the passengers in the extremely thronged alleys. Oblong signs, of a vermilion colour, with large golden letters, line both sides of the streets, so as to hide the lower parts of the buildings: they make, notwithstanding, a very gay appearance. The basement story of every house, seems to have in it a shop filled with merchandise; and every third house, I believe, has some eatables for sale: bird’s-nests, fish-maws, shark-fins, dried oysters, muscles, deer-sinews, fish of all kinds, pork, beef, &c.
All kinds of strange compounds are cooked in the streets and are frequently made of vile materials, such as are never sold in any other country. Vast numbers of shops are filled with gilt paper—paper men, women, and beasts, of all sorts, with or without horns, and of frightful shapes; some with moveable goggle eyes, and moveable heads, painted of all colours, with mouths extending from ear to ear, intended for offerings to a temple or Jos-house. A small oven is built at every shop-door, in which to burn incense to their penates or household gods, and in every shop, house, boat, and junk, altars are erected, surrounded by a frightful paper Jos, ornamented with painted and gilt paper, and having odoriferous matches burning before it.
In company with an American missionary, the highly respectable and Reverend Mr. Bridgham, who has made great proficiency in the Chinese language, and is extending his researches in various ways, more especially in teaching a number of Chinese youths, &c., I paid a visit to the great idol temple of Honam, opposite the city, on the south side of the river, which is here about fifty rods wide.[†] This great temple and monastery contain one hundred and seventy-four priests. The general character given of these, by the Chinese, is, that they are great debauchees, gamblers, and common mendicants; like the criminals, their heads are close shaven, they not being suffered to wear the long braided queue; and they are held in no manner of respect by the people. The temple is said to be immensely wealthy. These priests are of the sect of Firk, or Budha, and the temple, or rather succession of temples, would, including the gardens, in which they raise large quantities of vegetable and other fruits, cover an area of twelve acres. Their diet is composed of fruits and vegetables. Meat and fowls being expressly forbidden them.
GREAT IDOL TEMPLE.
Entering under a gateway, guarded by strong wooden bars, we passed over a paved flagging, to what is called, “Hill Gate.” It retains this name, because the Budha priests affect to separate themselves from the rest of mankind, and to live among hills and mountains—hence, although a monastery be on a level plain, as it is here, the first gate leading thereto, is always called “Hill Gate.” From “Hill Gate,” we proceeded to the “Sea screen,” and from thence to the “Angler’s eminence;” the origin of the latter name, I could not ascertain. We proceeded onward to a building, having a roof similar to that seen on China ware, and which was placed transversely across the passage. The first objects which saluted our eyes, were two immense statues, in a standing position, occupying each side of the passage; they are called, “Huay Ha,” warriors; are not less than fifteen feet high, and present a most threatening aspect, having eyes nearly the size of a hat-crown, with a mouth of immense width, showing a long protruding fiery tongue; these frightful objects were painted in gaudy colours and gilt; before them were placed in white copper vessels—odoriferous matches in sand. They are thus placed, as guards to the temple of Budha. After passing a court-yard, similar to the first, I entered the pavilion or palace of the great celestial kings, containing four colossal statues, in a sitting posture, upward of twenty feet high, and gilt most fantastically, but having placid countenances. The roof is supported by thirty-two highly lacquered pillars. On the right and left, in two small pavilions, are two military demi-gods, guarding, as I suppose, the wings of the “great temple.” The principal hall or pavilion, which I now entered, is called “The great, powerful, precious palace,” and the “Golden coloured region;” fronting the entrance is the “Precious Budhas,” “The past,” “present,”
