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Wuchow, the principle town of the Prefecture of Wuchow, is, at the same time, the seat of the District Magistracy of Ts'ang Wu a name which appears at a very early date and occupies a prominent place in ancient Chinese history.
The mythical Emperor Shun (B.c. 2200) while on a tour of inspection of his southern domains died "in the wilds of Tsang Wu," and one tradition at least relates that his grave is to be found in the Great Cloud Montains, 3 miles to the east of Wuchow.
Of the nine divisions into which the Great Yu, (B.o. 2150) divided the Empire, Chingehou was the region lying between the Tungting Lake and the southern Kingdom of Yich-the present Annam-and of Chingehou Ts'ang Wu was an important sub-division. It is impossible to state with accuracy at what period Yüeh became tributary to China, but both the first Emperor Chin Shih-huang and the Emperors of the flan dynasty appear to have appointed officers to govern that territory on their behalf. Ch'in Shih-huang divided the bundred Yüeh into the three Provinces of Nanhai, Kuei-lin and Hsiang, and when the rule of his house came to an end, a certain official known as Chao To took possession thereof, and, calling himself Emperor of Southern Yeh, appointed Chao Kuang Prince of Tsang Wu, to reside at Kuang-hsin, an old town, I mile to the east of the present Wuchow.
In the year 135 3.c. Han Wu-ti dispatched one of his Generals, Fu Po, to conquer the Southern Yeh, and he divided it up into seven districts known as Nanhai, Tsang Wu, Yu-lin, Ho-p'n, Chiao-chil, Chiu-chen, and Jih-uan, placing them under the control of an officer known as the Governor of Annam to reside at Kuang-hsin.
In 592 A.D. the present city of Tsang Wu was built and thenceforward became the seat of Government. The Province of Kuanghsi was first defined in 1364 by the last of the Sungs, and in 1465 the office of Governor-General of the Liang Kuang was instituted by the Ming Emperor Ch'êng Hua. This officer resided for some sixty years at Ts'ang Wu, and then occassionally went to reside at Shao-ching returning as necessity arose to Wuchow. At the commencement of the present dynasty this state of things still obtained, but in 1665 the seat of Provincial Government was transferred to Kuei-lin, and Wuchow reverted to the status of an ordinary profectual city.
In the autumn of 1857 it fell after a seige of 100 days into the hands of the Boat rebels, who, availing themselves of the anarchy caused by the Taiping rebellion, appear to have harried this and the neighbouring province for many years; the city was retaken twi years later.
As above stated the old city and district were known as Kuanghsin, and the site thereof was on the ground lately purchased by Jardine, Matheson, and Co.
The present city, which is about 1,300 years old, stands at the junction of the Fu or Kuei River and the waterway known to foreigners as the West River. Its position has ever been considered by the Chinese one of great strategic importance, in as much as it controls the passage to and from the provinces of Kuangtung and Kuaughsi. In the middle of the main river, 2 miles below the town, is an islet known as flsi Lung Chou which in native opinion forms the key to the water system of the whole province. The point of confluence is known as San Chiang Ho, or the junction of the three rivers, and it may not be without interest if I endeavour to give a rough sketch of the streams which here unite and form the West River proper. Not, however, having a single reliable map at hand and having no guide but the notorious inaccuracy of Chinese geographers, the attempt is not likely to prove of much value. (Extracted from the Prefectural Topography.)
The three rivers are, 1, the Li River, II, the Yu or right River, and III, the Tso or left River.
(Note.-The names Right and Left River are given in their respective districts to the two rivers forming No. III.)
I. The Lichiang, which is the same as the Cassia or Fu River, rises in the north-cast corner of the province on the Haiyang range, and, flowing past Lingeh'uan, Kueilin, and Pinglo, enters the West River at Wuchow. Its springs are very adjacent to those of the Hsiang River, which drains into the Tungting Lake, and whence the Hunan troops known as the Hsiang-chun derive their appellation.
II. The Yu-chiang is formed by (1) the Lung River and (2) the Fung River, which, after uniting at Lin-chêng, are joined lower down by (3) the Hung-shui River, and meet
III at Hsun-chou.
1. The Lung-chiang rises in Kuei-chou, and flows past Ching-yüan.
2. The Fung-chiang rises in Kuei-cirou, and flows past Huai-yüan,
3. The Hung-shui-chiang. (Note.--Said by some to be the main branch of what is
known to Europeans as the West River.) The most considerable of the three, rises in Yunnan, and flows past Hsi-lung, joins (1) and (2), united at Lai-pin.
III. The Tso-chiang is formed by (1) the Tsang-ko River and (2) the Chiao-chih River, together with several smaller streams.
1. The Tsang-ko-chiang rises in Yunnan, flows past Tien-chou, and joins (2) at Ho-chiang-chen. (Note.--Locally known as the Yu-chiang, on which is situated the town of Po-sê.)
2. The Chiao-chih-chiang rises in Tongking. (Note.-Locally known as the Tso- chiang, on which is situated the town of Lungchow.)
(1) and (2), after their junction, flow past Nanning, and are known as the Yu River, until they reach Hsin-chou. The name West River is not given to the main stream until it crosses the border of Kuangtung 10 miles below Wuchow. Here it is known as the Wu-chiang,
The city of Wuchow contains some 40,000 inhabitants, and the districts controlled by the Prefecture are Tsang Wu, Huai-chi, Ts'en-chi, Tseng, and Tung. The aboriginal inhabitants were known as Yao and Tung, and during the Ming dynasty appear to have given the officials much trouble. Since then, however, they have gradually assimilated with the Chinese, and I do not believe there are any distinctive aboriginal villages in the Prefecture.
Of the town little is to he said; it is essentially one of mean streets, low-lying, and constantly liable during the summer to inundation. The business quarter extends along the banks of both rivers to the south and west of the city wall, and it is surprising that the Cantonese, who form 99 per cent. of the mercantile community, should put up year after year with the loss of business and other inconveniences which are the result of the annual submersion of their premises.
A disastrous fire which took place some two years ago has led to the introduction of a steam pumping-engine, and the laying of fire mains in the suburbs, but the system is not yet in working order.
I have not been here for a sufficient length of time to see what effect freshets on the Fu River have; the period during which it is stated to be most violent is when the West River is low and unable to dam up the accauiolated mountain torrents which rush down its sloping bed. To judge, however, by the fact that for centuries it was spanned by a bridge of boats a few hundred yards above its mouth, there would seem to be no reason why communication between Wuchow and the west bank of this river should be cut off for
days at a time, In 1472 Haufung, a famous Governor-General then resident here, threw a bridge of fifty-six boats across the river, and supported it by chains fastened to two iron posts on either bank. This bridge continued in existence till well on into the present century, and was first broken off, I believe, when the rebels made their appearance before the town. The four iron posts still remain in a state of almost perfect preservation. In 1596 a similar bridge of 142 boats was thrown across the main river, but it does not seem to have been kept up for any considerable number of years. The engineering difficulties to be contended with are of course much greater on the main river than on the Fu Ho, owing to the very great difference between the West River's summer and winter levels, This summer the river commenced to rise shortly after my arrival, and reached its highest point on the 1st July, 35 feet above the water-mark of the 15th June, It fell, however, very rapidly, and again rose some 15 to 20 feet about the beginning of August. The bank of the West River is a mod flat sloping at an angle of about 45 degrees, whereas the banks of the Fu River are rocky and steep. The colour of the water in the latter is the clear green of a mountain stream, in marked contrast to the yellow muddiness of the main river.
A small hill opposite the city, known as the Fire Hill, would appear to have been at -one time in a state of active volcanic eruption, as up to the middle of the fourteenth -century it was constantly emitting fire." Local notes, too, have innumerable notes of earthquakes having occurred in the Prefecture.
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As regards local revenue, this Prefecture is considered the wealthiest in the province, owing to the fact that the greater proportion of imports into, and exports from, Kuangbsi must pass the four custom-houses--now increased to five by the addition of the Maritime Customs-which line the river bank. The Prefectural custom-house, at which all produce must pay duty, has an annual revenue of 130,000 to 140,000 taels, ni' which sum only some 70,000 taels has to be remitted to the Provincial Treasury. The chief source of revenue is duty on rafts, of which great numbers pass down the river. The land tax is fixed at 53,314 taels per annum, and the salt duties at 46,828 taels.
The Wuchow Li-kin Office controls four stations, three at Wuchow itself, and one,
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