TIENTSIN
it Tien-tsiu
Tientsin is situated at the junction of th• Yun Ho or Hwae River, better known as the Grand Canal, with the Pei-lio in Lat. 39 deg. 4 min. N., Long, 117 deg. 3 min. 56sec. E. It is distant from Peking by road about 80 miles, but the bulk of the enormous traffic between the two cities is now by the railway, which was opened in 1897, and the line doubled in November, 1898. Tientsin was formerly a place of no importance and till recently had few historic associations; till the end of the Ming dynasty (1614 A.D.) it was only a second rate military station, but at the northern terminus of the Grand Canal it gradually assumed commercial importance, and by the end of the seventeenth century had become a great distributing centra. The navigability of the Pei-ho for sea-going junks ceases at Tientsin, and thi, made it the emporium for the very large quantities of tribute rice yearly set up to the capital, after the Grand Canal shonded up so as to be unfit for carriage in bulk. The trade of the city was imperilled by the silting up of the Pei-họ, but a river improvement scheme of some magnitude was inaugurated in 1893 under Mr. A. de Linde, and the Peace Protocol of 11 contains clases which constitute a Board of Conservancy (now in existence) and the provision of fairly liberal funds for the maintenance of the works. It is, however, generally believed that no lasting success will attend the remedial measures until steps are taken to deal with the Taku Bar by permanent dredging; meanwhile by closing the canals and creeks which take off most of the flood tide, by giving a larger radius of curvature to the bends, and by widening the Reach, and making three cuttings to straighten the river, its navigability has been greatly ameliorated. Work on the bar was commenced during 1996, the Shipping Companies and British Municipality having come to terms in regard to financing the work. A channel of some depth has been made with lakes and is now being used by vessels, as it offers an additional i 4 inches depth of water. In January, 1909, a conservancy scheme received the sanction of the Diplomatic Body at Peking and the Chinese Gavernment involving the raising of a loan of Tls. 870,000 to cover initial expenditure on tugs for raking the bar, a complete dredging plant for the bar, and a second dredger for making a fourth cutting in the river. The service of the loan and the annual running expenses will be met by an increased levy of river dues on cargo and by a shipping tax. The trade of the city no longer depends entirely on this route, however. The railway now carries nearly 50 per cent. of the city's trade with the interior, and railway development generally in the district promises to make the trade less dependent upon the river. Chinwangtao makes an excellent winter jetty.
The expeditions of the allies in 1858-61 greatly enhanced the importance of the city, as it then proved to be the military key of the capital and an excellent base. It was here on June 26th, 1858, that Lord Elgin signed the treaty which was to conclude the war, but which unhappily led to its prolongation. The famous temple in which the treaty was signed, about a mile distant from the West gate, was destroyed by British shells in July, 1900,
During the long satrapy of Li the trade and importance of the city developed exceedingly. Li, by the vigour of his rule, soon quelled the rowdyism for which the. Tientsinese were notorious throughout the empire, and as he made the city his chief residence and the centre of his many experiments in military and naval education, it came to be regarded as the focus of the new learning and national reform. The foreign affairs of China were practically directed from Tientsin during the two decades 1874-94.
The city will ever be infamous to Europeans from the massacre of the French Sisters of Mercy and other foreigners on June 21st, 1870, in which the most appalling brutality was exhibited as usual the political avitators who instigated the riot got off. The Roman Catholic Cathedral, which was decroyed on that occasion, was rebuilt, and the new building was consecrated in 1897, only to again fall a victim to Boxer fury in 1909. Tientsin played a great part in the history of China during the momentous year of the Boxer outbreak, 1900, a very full account of which will be found in the discription of Tientsin given in the 1961 and later volumes of this Directory.
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