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17

I. GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS.

CHINA.

Physical Geography.-Important additions to our knowledge of the physical geography of China were made within the period 1875-1900. Chief among these is the work of Baron F. von Richthofen, published at Berlin in 1882, including his geological maps of the northerly part of the empire. The hitherto unknown tracks of

western and south-western China have attracted numerous travellers, and the trade routes and markets of Szechuen and Yunnan have been explored and described by officers of the British consular service. And within the last year or two of the 19th century private enterprise undertook a survey of the whole route from the Burma frontier to the Yangtse at Chungking, with a view to the construction of a through line of railway. Several eminent French explorers have traversed the same region with the like object of finding a feasible route from Tongking into Szechuen. For details reference should be made to the works cited at the close of this article, but the following general remarks on the country as a whole are

submitted.

The ancient stratified rocks of China form beds of stupendous thickness. Of these the most widely diffused is a characteristic limestone to which von Richthofen gives the name "Sinian," its prevalence being so universal that it deserves to take its name from the whole country. In the provinces bordering on the lower Yangtse this limestone belt occupies the centre of a group of formations, the lower being quartzose sandstone and argillite schists, and the upper again argillaceous sandstone often locally altered into quartzite. In Szechuen the limestone attains a thickness of upwards of 11,000 feet in some parts. Extending, as the formations do, over nearly the whole of China, they vary indefinitely in their relations to one another, but the whole points to a long period of quiescence when the central and northern parts of China were submerged under deep water. The period corresponds to the Silurian and Devonian epochs in the geology of Europe. Outflows of granitic rock and other violent disturbances brought the period of quiescence to a close. Over the limestone formations there is next found a series of Carboniferous strata almost equally widely diffused. This also varies greatly in various parts of the country. In some parts, as in Shansi, the seams of pure coal are of great thickness, as much as 30 feet or more, in others the beds are thin, and separated by layers of limestone and argillaceous strata. These conditions point to a general elevation of the ocean bed alternating with periods of subsequent depression. The Coal Measures are in turn overlain by sedimentary deposits of sandstone, shales, and conglomerates, to a depth of many thousand feet. A general elevation then took place probably soon after the close of the Carboniferous epoch, and there is no evidence to point to any subsequent depression beneath the level of the sea. The Jurassic and Cretaceous series of rocks do not appear to be represented in China. The dominant feature in the geography of China is the existence of the enormous mountain masses on which her western frontier abuts. From these main ranges, spurs or outliers run into China, having generally an east or west trend, and these have determined the courses of the great rivers. Having their sources at a great height, and draining very extensive basins, these rivers have for ages been bringing down quantities of silt which have been deposited on the beds of ancient lakes, and on the sea bottom, thus forming the

Great Plain of China, which is now so large and important a part of the empire. It fills an area of about 200,000 square miles, and is still growing. Denudation has thus been the principal agency in giving to Chinese scenery its characteristic features. In Hunan and in Szechuen, where a soft red sandstone abounds, it has converted what at one time was probably a uniform plateau into a thoroughly hilly country.

Although large masses of eruptive granite and other igneous rocks are to be found in various parts, it does not appear that volcanic energy has for many ages had any part in determining the configuration of the country. There is no trace anywhere of recent active volcanoes. Intrusive dykes of granite, porphyry, &c., are frequent, more especially in the northerly provinces and Shantung, and in a few places metamorphic action has altered the character of the rocks, but on the whole the sedimentary deposits have not been greatly disturbed by subterraneous activity. In the province of Shansi a plateau stands out above the plain where the several strata can be traced in a nearly horizontal position over a superficial area of 30,000 square miles. Looking from the plain westwards there is seen to be, first, a rugged barrier made up of very ancient formations; second, a general substructure of limestone of 2000 feet in thickness; third, a series of coalbearing strata of 500 feet; fourth, the post-Carboniferous strata of 3000 feet; and, lastly, a general cover of loess. This is the largest coal field in China, and probably in the world, but a similar sequence of strata is found prevailing generally. Though no recent volcanic agency has been traced, there have been, subsequent to the limestone and carboniferous periods, very considerable upheavals, due either to subterranean forces or to the puckering consequent on lateral compression. The ridges thus thrown up have taken generally a north-east and south-west trend. They do not rise to any great height, seldom reaching 5000 feet, nor does any one ridge stand out as the predominant mountain chain, but the result is to give a general mountainous character to large areas of the country. One such belt of hills runs through all the south-eastern provinces from Tongking to Hangchow Bay, terminating in the rocky islands of the Chusan Archipelago. Another runs through Szechuen, and is cut transversely by the Yangtse river, which there flows between limestone cliffs forming the picturesque scenery of the Yangtse gorges. A third series starts from the Mongolian plateau and runs through Chihli and Shansi, forcing the Yellow river to take a long sweep southwards until it finds its way through a similar series of gorges at Lungmen. In the provinces of Kweichow and Yunnan the north-east and south-west system meets the outlying spurs of the central Asian system, which run nearly at right angles to the former, thus causing a confused mass of lofty mountain peaks which defies description. Along such ridges the limestone strata are tilted up and exposed to view, and in a few cases the still deeper strata of ancient plutonic rocks, granitic gneiss, and schists are also exposed. At one of the gorges in the Yangtse, where the river has cut its way across the ridge, the formation is well seen. There is, first, a central core of granite, then a thin bed of metamorphic schist, then the limestone inclined at a high angle on each side, then carboniferous strata, and, lastly, the superincumbent layer of sandstone and other recent deposits,—the latter, however, being often eaten away by erosion down to the limestone. This northeast south-west system, however, is on the whole subordinate to the dominant east and west ranges, stretching S. III. - 3

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country the physical character of the scenery, but also | It is not stratified, and has a tendency to vertical cleavage. determines the agricultural products, the transport, and general economic life of the people. It is peculiar to north China, and is not found south of the Yangtse. The loess is a solid, but friable earth of brownish yellow colour, and when triturated with water is not unlike loam, but differs from the latter by its highly porous and tubular structure. Among its constituents, next to the argillaceous basis, fine sand and carbonate of lime predominate. It spreads alike over hills and valleys, smoothing over the irregularities, and has a depth, in many places, of over 1000 feet.

It is full of fossil land shells, and contains bones of quadrupeds, but has no remains of either marine or freshwater shells. From its porous nature water never lies on the surface. The rainfall is at once absorbed as by a sponge. On the other hand, moisture is retained in the lower portions for long periods. The drainage is consequently not carried on the top. Whatever streams or rivulets there are, at once cut their way through the friable earth to the subsoil, carrying down the débris to be deposited as alluvium on the plains. As the cleavage is

vertical the banks fall in, in perpendicular slabs, leaving a vertical wall on each side, often hundreds of feet in height. This is always the case in the newly-formed small affluents of the larger streams, and even in the older rivers the valley never slopes gradually down to the river bed, but approaches by a series of terraces, each backed by a vertical wall separating it from the next above. The consequence of this is that communication in a loess-covered country is extremely difficult. Seen from a distance, the valley may present a gentle undulating appearance, but as it is approached it shows a perfect labyrinth of deep cuts with perpendicular walls, among which the traveller without a guide may wander indefinitely, vainly seeking an exit. The loess soil is extremely favourable to agriculture. It bears excellent crops, and not merely on the lower grounds, but at altitudes of 6000 and 8000 feet. Wherever loess is found the peasant can live and thrive. Only one thing is essential, and that is the annual rainfall. As no artificial irrigation is possible, if the rain fails the crops must necessarily fail. Thus seasons of great famine alternate with seasons of great plenty. It appears, also, that the soil needs little or no manuring, and very little tillage. From its extremely From its extremely friable nature the soil is easily broken up, and thus a less amount of labour is required than in other parts. The extreme porosity of the soil probably also accounts for the length of time it will go on bearing crops without becoming exhausted. The rainfall penetrating deeply into the soil in the absence of stratification, comes into contact with the moisture retained below, which holds in solution whatever inorganic salts the soil may contain, and thus the vegetation has an indefinite store to draw upon. Another peculiarity of loess in China is that it lends itself readily to the excavation of dwellings for the people. places whole villages live in cave dwellings dug out in the vertical wall of loess. They construct spiral staircases, selecting places where the ground is firm, and excavate endless chambers and recesses which are said to be very comfortable and salubrious dwellings.

In many

With respect to its origin, Baron von Richthofen is of opinion that loess is a subaerial formation. The entire absence of stratification, except in what he calls regenerated loess, i.e., original loess washed down and deposited in lake bottoms, and the entire absence of marine or freshwater shells, forbid the supposition that it is an aqueous deposit. The only other agency that can be suggested is air currents combined with rainfall. The latter carries down certain débris, while the former carries the fine dust and sand from the steppes among the herbaceous vegetation, where it is retained and mixed with the decaying leaves and roots. No stratification can take place, and any approach to it will be completely effaced by the roots which descend vertically, and are probably the chief agents in producing the vertical cleavage.

Meteorology. The figures in the Table are taken from the observations recorded at the French mission station at Shanghai. They give the average of eight years'

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observations. The absolute maximum and minimum temperatures during the period were 102° and 12.2° respectively.

Climate. The climate of Shanghai, which is that of the lower Yangtse valley generally, is on the whole favourable. The three months from July to September are somewhat trying to Europeans. The temperature is high and the air is often laden with moisture. The prevailing winds during this season are south-easterly, caused by heat and the ascending current of air over the sandy deserts of central Asia, thus drawing in a current from the Pacific Ocean. In the winter the converse takes place, and the prevailing winds are north and north-west, which are cold and dry. During the eight or nine months from October to May the climate is bracing and enjoyable. The rainfall is moderate and regular, and a failure of the crops owing to prolonged droughts is very rare. Farther north, however, this is not the case. The provinces of Shantung and Shansi are peculiarly liable to prolonged periods of drought, with consequent severe famines such as that of 1877-78, when many millions died for sheer want of food. of food. In these regions the air is generally extremely dry, and the daily variations of temperature consequent on excessive radiation are much greater than farther south. Dust storms are also prevalent during the spring months. In the southern and south-western provinces, especially Szechuen, the rainfall is much greater than that above recorded, and the summer heat, though not higher as a maximum than that of Shanghai, is naturally more prolonged and more enervating. But as a whole the climate of China compares favourably with that of any other part of the world lying between the same parallels of latitude. The greater part of it is what may be called a White Man's land, and in no part is it specially trying for Europeans. Certain areas of the province of Yunnan have a reputation among Chinese for unhealthiness, being mostly those lying at the bottom of deep valleys of the Mekong and Salween rivers, where malarial fever abounds, and it may be mentioned that certain areas in this province are the home of the bubonic plague, an epidemic which has recently been attracting so much attention. On the other hand, the plateaus of Yunnan, and notably the plain of Talifu, have the reputation of an excellent climate, the latter, according to Indian travellers, comparing favourably with Kashmir.

Area and Population. The only change in area since 1875 is the annexation to Japan of the island of Formosa, with a population of about 2,000,000. In regard to population no accurate statistics are yet forthcoming. The Chinese Government continues from time to time to print in the Peking Gazette returns of the population made by one or other of the various provincial authorities, but, so far as is known, no systematic attempt has been made to take a general census on European principles. The method of numeration is to count the households, and from that to make a return of the total inhabitants of each province. As every province is divided for administrative purposes into so many hsien or districts, and every district into so many hundreds, there would be no great difficulty, as the population is nearly all rural and taxpaying, in obtaining fairly accurate returns if sufficient care were taken. It does not appear, however, that much care is taken. The standing orders are that the returns are to be made every three years, but as no allowance is made to meet the expenses, it is probable that in the majority of cases the last return is taken, and a round sum is added or subtracted to meet the supposed facts of the case. Mr E. H. Parker published in the number of the Statistical Society's Journal for March 1899 a series of tables translated from Chinese records, giving

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the population from year to year between 1651 and 1860. | his facts on such information as the courtiers and high These tables show a gradual rise, though with many fluctuations, up till 1851, when the total population is stated to be 432 millions. From that point it decreases till 1860, when it is put down at only 261 millions. The following table gives as nearly as can be ascertained the actual population at the present time :—

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Constitution and Government. - The Government of China is in theory an absolute monarchy. The Emperor is the sole and supreme head of the state. His will is absolute alike in the highest affairs of state and in the humblest details of private life. The highest form of legislation is an imperial decree, whether promulgated in general terms or to meet a special case. In either form it is the law of the land, and no privilege or prescriptive right can be pleaded against it. All officers of state, all judges and magistrates, hold their offices entirely at the imperial pleasure. They can be dismissed, degraded, punished without reason assigned, and without form of trial—even without knowing by whom or of what they are accused. There are no constitutional checks upon the arbitrary acts of the monarch. He is provided with an advisory council, but he is not bound by their advice, nor need he pretend that he is acting by and with their advice and concurrence. In practice, however, this arbitrary power is tempered in several ways. Firstly, although the constitution confers this absolute and unchecked power on the Emperor, it is not for his gratification but that he may exercise it for the good of his people. He rules by divine authority, and as the vice-regent of Heaven upon earth. If he rules corruptly or unjustly Heaven will send disasters and calamity on the people as a reproof; if the rule becomes tyrannical Heaven may withdraw its favour entirely, and then rebellion may be justified. Though treason and rebellion are ordinarily the most heinous of crimes, yet history applauds a successful revolt as evidence of the iniquities of the fallen dynasty. The Manchu dynasty came to the throne as foreign conquerors, nevertheless they have adopted this theory, and base their right to rule, not on the power of the sword, but on divine approval. On this moral ground they claim the obedience of their subjects, and submit themselves to the corresponding obligations. A more effective check upon the caprice of the Emperor, however, is the second which we will notice, namely, that the constitution prescribes that the Emperor shall live in seclusion. He is consequently dependent for

officers of state permit to reach him, and he is further dependent for the execution of his decrees on such means as these same officers supply him with. Though in theory he can command the services and money of his subjects to an unlimited extent, yet the crown as such has no revenues peculiarly its own. It is dependent for the pay of the troops, as well as for the ordinary expenses of the imperial household, on contributions levied through the high officials on the several provinces, and without their concurrence and co-operation nothing can be done. The power of the purse and the power of the sword are thus exercised mediately through the instruments recognized by the constitution, and it thus comes about that the autocratic power is in practice transferred to the general body of high functionaries, or to that clique of them who for the time being have the ear of the Emperor, and who are united enough and powerful enough to impose their will on the others. The high functionaries of state who thus really wield the supreme power are almost without exception civil officials who have risen from the ranks of the people. There is no hereditary aristocracy in the European sense of the term. Hereditary rank is indeed bestowed on a few public servants usually for a limited number of lives, and there are among the descendants of the Manchu chieftains, who helped to found the dynasty, a few who hold titles of nobility, but in either case the rank per se gives them no status in the constitution. Among the princes of the blood there are a small number who hold high office and take an important part in the Government, such as the late Prince Kung and Prince Ching, the former and the present head of the Tsung-Li-Yamen, but their right to have a voice in public affairs is in virtue of their holding office, not in virtue of their nobility. Practically all the high officials who now constitute the Government of China have risen through the junior ranks of the civil service, and obtained their high position as the reward—so it must be presumed-of long and distinguished public service.

The functions of Government are divided between (a) the central administration and (b) the provincial administration. The empire proper is divided into eighteen provincial governments, each of which has a complete administrative machinery of its own, and possesses a quasiindependence in financial and military affairs. In some cases two or three are grouped together under a governorgeneral, often called a viceroy, without, however, affecting their independent status. At the head of each province is a governor, whose main functions are to keep the peace and preserve order, to collect the taxes, to raise and pay his own troops, pay the salaries of the civil service, remit the regulation quota of the taxes in money and in kind, as the case may be, to Peking, and to find and remit the extra "squeezes" which the needs of the central Government may demand. If he does all that and things go smoothly, the central Government does not interfere with him. He renders pro forma accounts to the Board of Revenue at Peking, but no effective scrutiny is maintained. He is not responsible for disorder beyond his own border, nor bound to send military aid to his neighbours even against foreign invasion. The functions of the central Government, on the other hand, are mostly confined to checking and registering the acts of the provincial governments, and seeing that things are done in conformity with precedent and with established rules. If the central authorities take the initiative, and issue orders, as they occasionally are forced to do, under foreign pressure, it by no means follows that they will be carried out. The orders, if unwelcome, are not directly disobeyed, but rather ignored, or specious pleas are put forward, showing the difficulty or impossibility of carrying them out at that particular juncture.

The central Government always wields the power of | removing or degrading a recalcitrant governor, and no case has been known where such an order was not promptly obeyed. But the central Government being composed of officials, stand by their order, and are extremely reluctant to issue such a command, especially at the bidding of a foreign Power. Generally the opinion of the governors and viceroys has great weight with the central Government, and probably no great measure of policy would be entered upon without their advice and concurrence. The Boxer troubles and the flight of the court from Peking on the approach of the foreign expeditionary force (Aug. 1900) shook the whole governmental fabric of the Chinese Empire. This and the following sections must therefore be taken as representing the normal condition of things before the outbreak of disturbances in 1900.

Central Administration.—The following are the principal departments of the central Government :

1. The Grand Secretariat (Neiko), consisting of four grand secretaries and two assistant grand secretaries, half of whom, according to a general rule applicable to nearly all the high offices in Peking, must be Manchu and half Chinese. This was originally the Supreme Council of the empire, but under the present dynasty it has ceased to be of active importance. It constitutes the Imperial Chancery or Court of Archives, and admission to its ranks confers the highest distinction attainable by Chinese officials, though with functions that are almost purely nominal. Members of the Grand Secretariat are distinguished by the honorary title of Chung-tang. The most distinguished viceroys are usually advanced to the dignity of grand secretary while continuing to occupy their posts in the provinces.

2. Grand Council (Chun Chi Chu).-This department, the actual Privy Council of the sovereign, in whose presence its members daily transact the business of the state, is composed of a small knot of men holding various high offices in the Government boards at Peking. The number is undetermined, but at present it is five. The literal meaning of the Chinese name Chun Chi Chu is "place of plans for the army," and the institution derives its name from the practice established by the early emperors of the dynasty of treating public affairs on the footing of a military council. The usual time of transacting business is, in accordance with Chinese custom, from 4 to 6 A.M.

3. Tsung-Li-Yamen.-This, the best known of all the Chinese departments, was created after the Anglo-Chinese war in 1860 as a Board for Foreign Affairs. Previously to that war, which established the right of foreign Powers to have their representatives in Peking, all foreign business was transacted by one of the provincial viceroys, chiefly the viceroy of Canton. The only department at Reking which dealt specially with foreign affairs was the Li Fan Yuen, or Board of Control for the dependencies, which regulated the affairs of Mongolia, Tibet, and the tributary states generally. With the advent of formally accredited ambassadors from the European Powers something more than this was required, and a special board was appointed to discuss and if possible settle all questions with the foreign envoys. The number was originally four, with Prince Kung, a brother of the late Emperor Hsien Feng at their head. It has since been raised to ten, another prince of the blood, Prince Ching, being now president. The members are spoken of collectively as the prince and ministers. For a long time the board had no real power, and was looked on rather as a buffer between the foreign envoys and the real Government. The importance of foreign affairs, however, especially since the Japanese war, has identified the Yamen more with the

Grand Council, several of the most prominent men being members of both. At the same time that the Tsung-LiYamen was created two important offices were established in the provinces for dealing with foreign commercial questions, viz., the Superintendencies of Trade for the northern and southern ports, the former being given to the governor-general of Chihli, and the latter to the governorgeneral at Nanking. Li Hung-Chang held the former for a number of years, and this position, combined with his personal talents and his influence at court, made him practically minister for foreign affairs over the heads of the Tsung-Li-Yamen.

4. The six Boards (Liu Pu). The administrative work of the Chinese Government is divided between six departments termed boards, viz., the Board of Civil Office, the Board of Revenue, the Board of Ceremonies,. the Board of War, the Board of Punishment, and the Board of Works. Each board has two presidents and four vice-presidents, half being Manchu and half Chinese. The official constitution of each is practically the same. They control each in its own sphere, the nature of which is sufficiently indicated by the names, the execution of that system of minute regulation for the conduct of public business which is the special function of the central Government. The presidents and vice-presidents of the boards, together with the heads of the censorate and the Hanlin college, may be said to constitute the central Government. They have not all an equal voice in the decisions of questions of state, but they are all qualified to tender advice to the sovereign, and it is from their number that the smaller executive councils above mentioned, viz., the Chun Chi Chu and the Tsung-Li-Yamen, are selected.

5. The Censorate (Tu Cha Yuen).—This is an institution peculiar to China. As the Emperor is condemned to live in seclusion, and has no means of learning what may be going on in the various parts of his dominions, the constitution endeavours to supply a remedy by providing a paid body of men whose duty it is to keep him informed of all facts affecting the welfare of the people and the conduct of Government, and in particular to keep an eye on the malfeasance of his officers. These men are termed Yu shih, generally translated censors. There are fifty-six of them, divided into fifteen divisions, each division taking a particular province or area, so as to embrace the whole eighteen provinces, besides one metropolitan division. With the growth of a native press this institution loses its raison d'être, and will probably fall into desuetude. It seems at the present moment to be more powerful for mischief than for good.

6. The Hanlin College (Hanlin Yuen).-The only other institution of the metropolitan administration that need be noticed is the Hanlin College, and this chiefly because the heads of the college, who are presumably the most eminent scholars of the empire, have the right of advising the throne on all public affairs, and are eligible as members of the Grand Council, or of the Tsung-Li-Yamen. In other respects its functions are purely literary. The Chineseset fire to it during the fighting in Peking in June 1900 in the hope of burning out the adjoining British Legation. The whole of the valuable library, containing some of the most ancient manuscripts in the world, was destroyed.

Provincial Administration.—No change has been made in the provincial administration since the article in the ninth edition of this work was written, where its organization is briefly described (Ency. Brit. v. 668). The extension of the telegraph system and the growth of native newspapers enable the central Government to take a more active supervision in provincial affairs than it has hitherto been wont to do.

Civil Service: how recruited.-The bureaucratic element.

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