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In and About Amoy

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In and About Amoy Mm, A 52. CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 Date Due ' AUG Ir-UDOj fl £ W44;e« y.SftAIW'-trCWTr' MYSILj. ^3RF?=R^^IC aii||i«iw Pf^Wuf- —-^i^^yfi^ ^j^nj'i "1SI9#"""""^ PRINTED IN {Qf NO. Z3233 Library Cornell University I DS 796.A52P68 i A.mqi:some,,aaiiail in and aboirt, 616 3 1924 023 488 The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023488616 IN AND ABOUT AMOY IN AND ABOUT AMOY Some historical and other facts connected with one of the first open ports in China BY REV. PHILIP WILSON PITCHER, M.A. Member of the American Refd. Chorch Mission Amoy, China SECOND EDITION. ILLUSTRATED mi THE METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE IN CHINA SHANGHAI AND FOOCHOW TO A.F.M.P. CONTENTS. Foreword. Chapter I. Thk Geockaphical Location of Amoy. 5 Physical features. Climatic conditions. Political divisions. Principal cities and towns. 6 II. The Island and City op Amoy. 13 The island. The harbor of Amoy. The city of Amoy. III. Historical Amoy. 21 1. Domestic Affairs. During the Sung dynasty. The Princes of Sung. Buccaneers. During the Ming dynasty. Kox- inga. During the Ts'ing dynasty. The Tai- ping rebellion. The Boxer movement. The Fanners. 2. Foreign Relations. 42 Arrival of the Portuguese. Arrival of the Spaniards, Arrival of the Dutch. Arrival of the English. The visit of the American Battleship fleet. The visit of the American Commercial Commission. IV. The Doors of Amoy Opened. 69 The hermit kingdom. The East India Company. The opium trade. The destruction of opium. Arrival of the "Blonde." Arrival of the British fleet. The Treaty of Nankin. V. The People, Characteristics and Customs. 79 The Hak-kas. The Natives, characteristics. Losing face. Physical characteristics. Foot binding. Infanticide. Classes. Their homes. Fukien, meaning of the word. ii CONTENTS VI. Cl,AN-FIGHTS. 99 The clan a powerful factor in national life. The government of villages. Clanfights distinctively peculiar to Fukien and Kwangtung. Baneful effects. Causes of. Government attitude to- wards. VII. Pagoda Shadows. 119 The Southern Sentinel. Pagoda Island. The Feast of Tombs. Ancestral worship. VIII. Occupations and Industries. 141 Agriculture. Cultivation of opium. Demoralizing effect of opium. The suppression of its produc- tion. Narcissus bulbs industry. Flora and fauna. Mining. Fruit canning. Manufactur- ies. IX. Amoy Emigration. 159 The Chinese abroad. Statistics. Benefits of em- igration. X. The Amoy Vernacular. 179 Antiquity of the Chinese language. Chinese literature, remarkable features. The spoken language, tones, aspirates, nasals, synonyms, clas- sifiers, and grammar. The written language construction of ideographs, number of; classes, styles. Permanancy of the written language. Diversity of the spoken language. Benefits of its acquisition. XL Amoy Romanization. 201 Date of construction, formation, orthography, numbers using. Dictionaries. Literature. Text books. Periodicals. XII. Amoy as a CommEuciai, Center. 213 Foreign firms. Foreign residents in the district. Value of trade. Exports. Re-exports. Imports. Currency. CONTENTS iii XIII. Amoy as a Center of Missionary Endeavor. 229 Protestant Missions. American Reformed Church Mission. English Presbyterian Mission. Lon- don Missionary Society. Other Missions. Church union. Educational institutions. Medical work. Translation work. Tract society. XIV. KOLONGSU, iNTERNATIONAt SETTLEMENT. 251 The island of Kolongsu. Camel Rock and inscrip- tion. Residences, schools, public buildings, and Recreation Ground. Date of inaugurating the International Settlement. History of events preceding its inauguration. XV. Travelling in the Amoy District. 265 Railroads. Roads. Sedan chairs. Boats. Burden bearers. Chinese inns. Distances from Amoy. Scenery. XVI. Places of Interest. 287 Temples. Rocking stone. Bridges. Memorial arches. APPENDIX. Area and population of China. 321 Statistics of Value of Trade. 324 Statistics of three Missions. 329 Treaty Ports. 315 Map of Kolangsu. 321 Amoy Business Directory. 305 Index. 331 Notices of Amoy in the Chinese Reposi- tory 1833-1850. 338 IIvIvUSTRATIONS. Koi,ONGSu AND Amoy Frontispiccc Amoy Consui,ates : Facing Page Americai*> Japanese, German, British 42 Map of Amoy Reoion 4 Map op Amoy Island and Harbor 5 Map of Fuhkien Province 10 Amoy Club House 43 Custom House 186 Signal Station - 187 Amoy City from the Hills 4 First Protestant Church, Amoy- - 198 North Gate of Amoy City Wall 13 A Country "Lau": Clan Residence 87 A Chinese Village House 86 Sucar-Cane Mill - 143 A Sampan 218 The "Southern Sentinel" Pagoda 94 Anglo-Chinese College, Kolongsu 202 Temple on a Bridge 241 Bridge Across a Stream 241 Section of Polam Bridge 240 PoLAM Bridge 240 Memorial Arch - r 248 Native Sedan Chair - 218 Foreigner's House Boat: "Gospel Boat" 225 Native Sailing Vessel : Junk 224 The Anhei Bridge 242 ii ILLUSTRATIONS A Nativk Ambui,Ai\ce - - 224 Graves of a Famhy ----- 230 Among the Tombs- - - - - _ 231 Amoy Raii,way Station - - - - 130 Emigrants Leaving Amoy - - 130 Tai<mage Memorial - - - - 202- hope and wlthelmina hospitals- - 202 Hongkong and Shanghai Bank- 48 Ung-Wen Institute - - - - 43 Drum Wave Rock - 209 Camel's Rock . - - 244 The Rocking Stone - 244 The Great Peace Temple - - 235 Entrance to Lam-pho-to Temple - 234 Picturesque Rocks on the Beach 7 A Part of Kolongsu - - 208 Map oe Kolongsu - - - - 321 His Highness Prince Yu Lang- - 51 Welcome Arches - . _ . sg Showing Rock Formation - - 12 Irrigating Rice Fields - - 142 House of Rev. David Abeel (1842) 199 FOREWORD. The material for this small volume has been gathered from many sources, and from personal research and observation during more than twenty- five years residence in the place. Some of the matter has appeared in print before, but it is the belief of the writer that by reproducing it here in this form the value of the book will be enhanced and at the same time make it more complete in all its parts. Perhaps no place along tliis entire coast has had a more interesting and exciting story to tell than this same small island, scarcely eight miles across. Many are the stirring events which have taken place here and in the neighborhood. For hundreds of years it was the rendezvous of bold buccaneers and unscrupulous adventurers, who, ravishing and plundering its inhabitants without mercy, made off with the spoils only to return another day to renew their wild depixdations more violently than before. It has been the theatre of many a fierce struggle, and the strong strategical position, or gateway to all the vast territory beyond (even Formosa itself), coveted alike by Manchus, the Long-haired Rebels, the Dutch, and the Japanese. The story of some of these events has been chiselled on the rocks, or carved on Memorial Arches, which time, for the past 300 years at least, 2 IN AND ABOUT AMOY has failed to erase. About some of them it will be the purpose of this book to tell, as well as something concerning the homes, country, in- dustries, customs, and language of this people. While the book does not pretend to have exhausted the subjects presented, yet it is hoped that these brief glimpses will be sufficient to prove both instructive and interesting. They are glimpses, however, of but a small corner of China, and it must not be assumed that they reveal the whole empire. Whatever else Amoy may have given to the world (and it has given much) it has contributed two words to the English language, sufficient in themselves to immortalize the place. (i) The word 'tea'' had its origin in 7\moy, being derived from the word pronounced in the local dialect, with a circumflex over it, te to indicate its tone. Tg. Tea. (2) The etymology of the second word is not so clear, but the word "j«/z« " is said to be of Chinese origin (vide, Webster's Dictionary, Satin), and is probably derived from the proper noun Zeitun or Zayton (a place about which more will be said later on), an ancient city near Amoy, a once famous emporium from which shiploads of raw material for silks and satins were transported to Manila and thence to Mexico in the latter part of the 1 6th century. FOREWORD 3 In this second edition some new chapters have been added and others eHminated and such a rear- rangement of old and new material as to render the book more logical and comprehensive. The author desires to acknowledge his in- debtedness to all who have contributed in anywise to the production of this book, virhether in the way of helpful criticism or suggestion. May the book prove not only interesting to those who have lived here, and to those who still reside here, but may it enable our friends in the home lands to better understand our environments in this part of Far Cathay. Kulangsu, November 8th, 1910. P. W. P. auvTkiivw CHAPTER I. THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF AMOY. In the southern part of the great Empire of China on the borders of the Pacific Ocean, where its western shores sweep for 2,000 miles south- westward, in N. Lat. 24" and E. Long. ii8.°, lies the little island of Amoy. So hidden is it behind the still further outlying ones that protect it from the sea, such as Quemoy (^ pg), Le-su {^ 1^), Tai-tan {iz. tS), and Chhi-su (^ il^), that the traveller would be apt to miss it as he journeys up and down the Formosa Channel. It is therefore located in the southern part of the Fukien province, which is bounded on the north by Chekiang, on the south by Kwangtung, on the west by Kiangsi, and on the east by the Formosa Channel.
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