PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TELEC.O. 882
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
6PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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He has no family, but if he ever has a son, he will be regarded as the child of his elder brother and will succeed to the title.
Entering the main gate of the temple from the street, we passed up an avenue of old cypress trees, to the right and left of which are marble tablets erected by Emperors of the various dynasties in honour of Mencius. The avenue leads to the main temple, which is built in a terrace with a verandah supported by marble pillars carved with dragons. In the hall is a statue of Mencius, and of one of his favourite disciples, Yo-Cheng Kê. Behind the main hall are halls in honour of his father, his son, and his wife.
The temple of Mencius is not kept in a good state of repair, in which respect it contrasts very unfavourably with the temple of Confucius.
We next proceeded to visit a temple dedicated to K'ung Chi or Tzu Ssu, the grandson of Confucius, and the author of the Doctrine of the Mean one of the Chinese- Classics. The temple is built on the site where Mencius taught and lived, and contains a statue of Tzu Ssu. We also visited a temple erected to the memory of the mother of Mencius, in which there are tablets in honour of his mother and her son.
On our return to our quarters we passed an arch marking the site of the home finally occupied by the mother of Mencius, who moved her residence, as recounted above, in the interests of her son, and a tablet referring to the following story of her cutting the web:-One day when Mencius came home from school his mother, looking up from the web she was weaving, asked him how he was progressing with his lessons. He answered her in a casual manner, "Well enough," on which his mother cut the web she was weaving, telling him that without application it would be as impossible for him to succeed in life as for her to complete a piece of work which she destroyed every time it was half finished.
On Wednesday, the 13th of May, we travelled from Tsou Hsien to Chi-ning Chou, a distance of about 80 li,* where we were most kindly received by Taotai Chang, whom we had met at Yen-chou Fu.
Chi-ning Chou is situated on the banks of the Grand Canal, and is the centre of a considerable trade. The largest building in the city is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and just outside the walls are two large Mohammedan mosques.
We found the Taotai much exercised regarding a coal mine which is situated about 280 li to the south-east of Chi-ning, 200 li south-east of Tsou Hsien, and 90 li north north-east of T'aierh Chuang, at which place the English portion of the Anglo-German railway line between Chin-kiang and Tientsin is to meet the German portion of the line. The mine at present produces about 300 tons of coal a day, but the vein, which is said to be 30 feet thick, has not yet been developed.
To work the mine properly a capital of two million dollars is required, of which, $1,100,000 can be raised, but the balance of $900,000 is still wanting. Shares to the value of 40,000 taels are owned by Mr. Detring, Commissioner of Customs at Tientsin, and by another German merchant at that port. Chang Yen-mao, whose ame is well known in connection with the Kaiping coal mines in the north, has a arge interest in the mine, the working of which has been sanctioned by Imperial Edict.
The Taotai informed me that mining experts, representatives of the German Mining Company as well as the head of that company, have recently been to see him, with a view to secure control of the mine, and that the German Minister at Peking had addressed a communication to the Chinese Foreign Office, stating that as the mine will be within 30 li of a German railway (not yet built), it ought to be under German control. The Chinese Foreign Office has refused to recognise the- claim, pointing out that the Anglo-German line from Chin-kiang to Tientsin, which will, if constructed, pass this mine-field, will be a Chinese line, built with foreign capital, and, therefore, does not come within the 30 li clause of the Kiao-chon Convention, which refers only to the lines from Tsing-tao to Chinan, T'ai-An and Tchou, and which are specially mentioned in that Convention. It has been further pointed out by China that the mines were being worked before the Treaty was made.
According to the fourth clause of the Railway and Mining Concession attached to the Kiao-chou Convention, "If at any time the Chinese should form schemes for the development of Shantung for the execution of which it is necessary to obtain
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foreign capital, the Chinese Government or whatever Chinese may be interested in such schemes, shall in the first instance apply to German capitalists. Application shall also be made to German manufacturers for the necessary machinery and materials before the manufacturers of any other Power are approached. Should German capitalists or manufacturers decline to take up the business the Chinese shall then be at liberty to obtain money and materials from sources of other nationality than Germany." If, therefore, the Chinese have to apply for foreign capital to develop the mine, and the Convention is not subject to the most favoured nation clause, the mine will come under the control of the Germans.
The Taotai told me that he had undertaken to draft the conditions on which he would be willing to allow the German Company to have an interest in the mine, but that one of the conditions he would insist on was that the Chinese should be allowed to have an interest in all German undertakings.
Both the Governor of Shantung and the Taotai are most anxious that the English portion of the Anglo-German railway line, that is, the portion from Chinking to the borders of the Shantung Province, should be completed as soon as possible, as a counterpoise to German influence. The Taotai is of opinion that the English portion of the line will pay well. He is doubtful whether the German line from Tsingtao to Chinan will ever pay by itself.
On Thursday, the 14th of May, we left Chining for T'ai-An, where we arrived on Saturday, the 16th of May, having rested one night at Ch'ên Chia Tien.
The prefectural city of T'ai-An is picturesquely situated at the foot of the high range of hills called T'ai-Shan, which rise abruptly to a height of 5,000 feet to the north of the city. The city is built in the shape of a square; the streets are badly paved, and there does not appear to be any extensive trade. There is a large temple in the northern part of the city, covering about 25 acres of ground, and surrounded by high walls within which are fine cypress and yew trees. In the main temple is a statue of the Emperor Shan, the walls being decorated with a painting of an imperial procession. A fair is held annually in this temple, when thousands of persons come from all parts of the empire on a pilgrimage to Tai--Shan, the sacred mountain.
The Judge from Chinan had promised to meet us at T'ai-An, as he had to visit T'ai-Shan in order to perform on behalf of the Emperor the annual worship of "Niang Niang," ""the Lady of the Hill."
On our arrival at T'ai-An we found that the Judge had already ascended the hill, and had left word that he hoped we would join him there. The weather, however, was so wet that we were unable to make the ascent until Monday, the 18th of May, which turned out å beautiful day.
The ascent of T'ai-Shan is made by a winding road about 15 miles long, made up chiefly of flights of stone steps, and kept in perfect condition.
The gradient is not steep to begin with, but the incline gradually becomes steeper, until at last the ascent is almost vertical. The height of the hill at the highest point is about 5,000 feet.
We started from the city at 8 a.m., and reached the summit at 11.30 a.m. Most of our party rode in chairs, but I walked the whole war, much to the astonish- ment and relief of my chair bearers, who were overheard to remark that this was their first experience of carrying an empty chair up the hill.
The road to begin with is lined on either side with cypress trees, but higher up the mountain only fir trees are found. About half way there is a temple marking the spot which Confucius reached, and all along the road the rocks are cut with inscriptions celebrating the beauties of the mountain. The views of the hill itself and of the surrounding country as one ascends are charming.
On reaching the summit of the hill we were welcomed by the Judge and his party, which consisted of his brother, his son, and nephew, and also by the Prefect and Magistrate of the city, who had made the ascent in the early morning.
The Judge conducted us round the various temples and showed us the silver vase and silver wheel which he had just offered to "the Lady of the Hill" on behalf of the Emperor.
The largest temple is that dedicated to "the Lady of the Hill," the roof of which is covered with iron and brass tiles. The floor of the temple was strewn
with votive offerings of cash, ladies' shoes and silver models of male infants, which had been deposited through a trap-door in the main door, which is opened only twice a year when the offerings are removed. We were also introduced into the
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