RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch ORASHKB and author Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 58 Among the eighteenth century travel books must be mentioned two first editions of interest although not relating to the Far East. The earlier is James Cook's A Voyage towards the South Pole, and Round the World of 1777, unfortunately the second volume only. And the second is Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa by Mungo Park, published in 1799. There is a 1771 edition of A voyage to China and the East Indies, by Peter Osbeck which includes An Account of the Chinese Husbandry, by Captain Charles Gustavus Eckeberg and A Faunula and Flora Sinensis. The first volume contains ten engraved plates of plants found in China. In the second volume is printed a letter from Charles Linné [Linnaeus] to Peter Osbeck which says:- + + + I have read your excellent books with pleasure and surprize. You, Sir, have every where travelled with the light of science: you have named every thing so precisely, that it may be comprehended by the learned world; and have discovered and settled both the genera and species. For this reason, I seem myself to have travelled with you, and to have examined every object you saw with my own eyes. One other eighteenth century account of travels and exploration in the Far East should be noticed: A Philosophical and Political History of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies by the Abbé Raynal, 1784. It may be salutary to notice the bitter attacks which the Abbé makes on English administration in India and elsewhere. Books like Ellis' Embassy and Timkowski's Travels have been too often described to warrant inclusion here. The Hundred Wonders of the World, and of the Three Kingdoms of Nature of 1824 published under the pseudonym of the Rev. C. C. Clarke, has a picture of the Porcelain Tower at Nankin, China, as a frontispiece. It is sad to think that this wonder no longer stands; it was destroyed during the T'ai-p'ing Rebellion. Processes of time, not war, have destroyed two of London's institutions listed as 'wonders', the Linwood Gallery of Leicester Square and Bullock's Museum, Piccadilly. It is strange to think that in their day they were compared with the British Museum and the Louvre of Paris. Elements of political economy by James Mill appears in a first edition of 1821. James was the father of John Stuart Mill for whom he obtained a clerkship in the East India Company after he himself had been given a high position following the publication in 1818 of his History of British India. Among the illustrated books in the collection there is an 1828 edition of Flora Javae by Carolo Ludovico Blume with remarkable colour plates. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1970 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ww72j0241 32 STEPHEN UHALLEY, JR. in answering a question it is always their chief endeavour to say what they suppose their questioner will be best pleased to hear. If therefore the knowledge of a fact is to be arrived at, it is, above all things, necessary that the inquiry bear a tint so neutral that the person to whom it is addressed shall find it impossible to reflect its colour in his reply. He will then sometimes, in his confusion, blunder into a truthful answer, but he does so generally with a bashful air, indicative of the painful consciousness that he has been reluctantly violating the rules of good breeding. A search after accurate statistics, under such conditions, is not unattended with difficulty,38 Elgin, however, never seemed to think equally critically of the information brought for his consideration about the Taipings. While it is of utmost importance what opinions such high-ranking English decision-makers were forming of the Taipings, it need not be supposed that the foreign community in general at this time was similarly influenced. We have the account of a relatively high ranking English naval officer which stated quite explicitly: "When Lord Elgin returned from his expedition up the Yang-tze-kiang in 1858, his high-handed policy toward them at Nankin, Ngan-king, and elsewhere, was much disapproved of by a large section of the community, and it was thought that he had hardly done justice to them."39 One might legitimately raise the question again as to the purpose of the mission. We have already given the ostensible reason: to investigate suitable trading ports and trade conditions along the river. But this seems implausible. With a full-scale war taking place along the greater part of the lower Yangtze Valley, it was unlikely that such an investigation would prove of much value. The mission was premature in another respect as well, for it took place before the treaty was ratified, an observation that is especially to the point since the Ch'ing government did not, in fact, ratify the treaty. Actually, Elgin had two underlying purposes. First, he believed that the trip would confirm that the Emperor had in principle conceded the opening of the river, thus inducing the Chinese to take steps to put the treaty into effect. Second, Elgin reportedly believed that the trip would aid the Imperial cause against the Taipings since the "opening ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1971 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029vt43g THE TAIPINGS AT NINGPO 19 If the foreigners were surprised at the speed and smooth success of the Taiping operation, they were equally surprised and gratified at the behavior of the revolutionaries as they established themselves in the city. The initial favorable impression created by the Taipings was almost universal, for even those who were most ill-disposed toward the Taiping movement commented charitably at the outset. The principal critic of the Taipings, British Consul Harvey noted initially that the occupying force conducted themselves with "wonderful moderation."4 Harry Parkes, long a detractor of the Taipings, corroborated this evaluation with an account of their entry into the city, noting that: The Ningpo rebels have shown the utmost desire to be on friendly terms with foreigners. Outside the south gate, which formed the point of attack, stands the establishment of the Sisters of Charity, which if occupied, would form excellent cover for an assaulting force, as its upper windows command the city walls; yet, although they crouched underneath its enclosure, as they collected for their rush on the gate, they did not trespass for a moment within the premises. Another large Roman Catholic establishment was one of the first buildings they had to pass, as they poured into the city, flushed and excited with their success; but they only stopped to welcome a small knot of foreigners who were standing underneath the porch, and to charge their people to offer them no harm. Roman Catholics and Protestants they hailed indiscriminately as being the same religion and fraternity as themselves....5 Parkes also reported that the Taipings invited men of influence in the Chinese community to come forward and serve as magistrates, a policy they had already instituted elsewhere in the province. S. Wells Williams, the historian, also known for his personal animosity toward the Taipings, wrote of the experience of a colleague at Ningpo, a Presbyterian missionary by the name of Rankin, who spoke of "great interest in the Gospel among some of the villages not far from the city, and (who) says that the rebels have put no hindrance in the way of his work.” There seems to have been a great deal of sympathy generated on the part of the foreign community toward the Taipings, at least initially, in response to their positive policies. Taiping ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r 148 NOTES AND QUERIES haute, le pic de Victoria, 1,8251, elle offre l'aspect de pierres superposées, aboutissant à la mer par des pentes douces, et à pic, en quelques endroits de la côte orientale. A l'exception de trois ou quatre petites vallées, il y a peu de terrain cultivable. On y trouve beaucoup de ruisseaux d'une eau très-pure; l'un d'eux, dans la partie sud-est, le Hiang-kiang (rivière des parfums), où les Européens allaient puiser leur eau, a donné à toute l'île son nom de Hiang-kiang, qu'on lit sur les timbres de la poste. Avant 1840, l'île de Hong-kong était à peu près inhabitée. Des cabanes éparses le long du rivage servaient d'abri aux pêcheurs et aux corsaires. La belle rade ne tarda pas à être remarquée des navigateurs anglais, qui, ayant vainement demandé au Portugal la franchise du port de Macao, étaient à la recherche, pour leur commerce, d'un port dans le voisinage des côtes de Chine. La rade de Hong-kong se présentait dans de bonnes conditions. Pourvue de deux entrées, l'une du côté ouest à l'embouchure du Tchong-kiang, et l'autre du côté est, vaste et bien disposée, elle pouvait abriter plusieurs flottes et former un port excellent. De plus, n'étant qu'à 80 milles de Canton et à 40 de Macao, elle deviendrait peut-être la clef de tout le commerce de l'Europe avec la Chine, et porterait le dernier coup à la puissance du Portugal dans ces parages; ce qui arriva en effet2. Pendant la première guerre de l'Angleterre avec la Chine, le ministre plénipotentiaire Elliot se fit céder cette île par le commissaire Chi-xeu. Le traité de cession fut ratifié à la fin de 1840 et au mois de janvier 1841; mais, avant la fin de la guerre, et, avant que ces conventions privées devinssent le traité de Nankin, conclu définitivement au mois d'août 1842, les Anglais non seulement avaient pris possession de l'île, mais y exerçaient déjà un pouvoir absolu. Le gouvernement britannique y avait commencé des travaux gigantesques, et traçait à travers les montagnes, une route très-large, de plusieurs lieues de longueur. A l'est, on bâtissait un fort sur un îlot et deux bastions en face de deux grandes casernes pour la défense des navires et du port. Les négociants de toutes les nations, encou- 1 Les autres montagnes sont; Le Pic Paker Highwest (sic) Kellet Gough 1710 pieds. 1175 1130 1575 2 Macao ne renferme plus aujourd'hui que 5,000 Européens et 30,000 Chinois. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1973 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8910rj06r NOTES AND QUERIES 149 ragés par le gouvernement, y accouraient en grand nombre. Beaucoup de Chinois venaient s'y établir et y construire des maisons. C'est ainsi que furent jetés les fondements de la nouvelle ville de Vittoria, avant la ratification du traité de Nankin, qui porte la date du 5 avril 1843. L'administration de l'île, comme il fut arrêté à cette époque, est confiée à un gouverneur. Il est assisté d'un conseil exécutif composé du secrétaire de la colonie, du commandant de la garnison et du procureur de la couronne, et d'un conseil législatif dont le gouverneur est le président. Ce conseil est composé d'un juge, du secrétaire de la couronne, du trésorier, de l'auditeur général, de l'inspecteur général et de trois des principaux négociants de l'île, nommés par la couronne, sur la présentation du gouverneur. La police emploie 60 Européens, 382 Indiens et 180 Chinois qui forment un personnel respectable de 550 personnes. Sous les cinq gouverneurs qui se sont succédé depuis 1843 jusqu'à 1863, la colonie s'est formée et accrue comme par enchantement, en sorte que, sur ces rochers, presque déserts en 1839, on comptait, en 1863, 3,080 habitants européens ou américains, et plus de 121,900 Chinois, dans la ville et dans les villages, avec une entrée de 120,028 livres sterling et une sortie de 121,880 livres. Elle avait un grand palais pour le gouvernement et un autre palais pour le gouverneur. La nouvelle ville de Vittoria, avec ses édifices somptueux, offre tout le confort de la vie, toute la propreté et tout le luxe anglais : des rues larges et souvent bordées d'arbres, des trottoirs, des portiques. Elle renferme des hôpitaux, des casernes, des théâtres, des clubs, une cathédrale protestante, une loge maçonnique inaugurée anno lucis 5854 (1852), des mosquées, des pagodes et des chapelles réformées. Toutes ces récentes constructions s'échelonnent, du rivage de la mer au sommet de la colline, sur une étendue de plus de cinq kilomètres. La mer elle-même, refoulée sur plusieurs points, 3 Gouverneurs de l'île: Sir H. Pottinger, du 28 juin au 7 mai 1844. Sir John Davis, de mai 1844 au 1er mars 1848. Sir George Bonham (sic) de mars 1848 à avril 1854. Sir John Bowring, d'avril 1854 à mai 1859. Sir Hercules Robinson, de septembre 1859 au 15 mars 1865. Sir F. MacDonnell (sic) de 1865 à 1872. Sir A. Kennedy. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 BRIDGEMAN'S LETTERS FROM CHINA AND HONG KONG 77 father's footsteps and entered the army by purchasing commissions, the usual practice then. Our Orlando, (the name has been a popular choice with the Bradford Bridgemans since the seventeenth century) purchased a commission as an ensign in the 98th Regiment of Foot on July 2, 1841.3 Within six months, Orlando Bridgeman and his regiment were on their way to the war in China. In March of 1843 he was promoted to lieutenant. The letters Bridgeman sent home were addressed to his sister, Selina, who at the time of writing was travelling the European continent in the manner of the fashionable young lady of her day. Only nine of the letters have survived, seven of which were sent from China or Hong Kong; the other two letters, which were also the first two, dealt with the voyage out to China via the Cape of Good Hope. Judging from the contents and dates of the letters it is quite possible that more were sent but have since been destroyed or lost. As one would expect in letters between brother and sister, much of the correspondence deals with family affairs, the condition and whereabouts of mutual friends, Selina's travels on the continent and like matters. After discussing such affairs, Orlando would then go on to recount to his sister details of his life in the not so mysterious and rather boring orient. Soon after his arrival in China, Bridgeman and his regiment took part in the expedition up the Yangtze to Nanking. His only letter about the war, written sometime in August, records its successful conclusion. You can have no conception of the general joy this affords. We are all very seedy. I myself am done up. The 98th are landed and have been for some time, and are encamped near the city of Nankin, more to recruit our health than anything else, as we have been suffering a good deal. Now that it is all over, I do not mind telling you all about it. We have had cholera very badly in the Regt. On our first landing to attack Tsing-kiang-foo* it attacked us and in less than three weeks we lost over one hundred men. Many others are still very ill from the effects of it and the regt. is a mere skeleton from the number of sick in hospital. We were only able to land three hundred and fifty strong. Do not let this frighten you or my mother, as all is nearly over, and the men are fast getting strong.4 Chinkiang, ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 84 ROBIN MCLACHLAN NOTES 1 Nottingham County Record Office, Bristowe Papers - DDBB 113, items 31-39. The dates and places of writing of the seven letters relevant to this paper are: No. 33, Hong Kong, February 12, 1843; No. 34, H.M.S. Melville on the Yangtze off Nanking, August 16(?), 1842; No. 35, Chusan, October 11, 1842; No. 36, Hong Kong, November 25, 1842; No. 37, Hong Kong, December 18, 1842; No. 38, Hong Kong, May 6, 1843; and No. 39, Hong Kong, October 29, 1843. (Further footnote reference will be by item number, i.e. 33-39). 2 H. G. Hart, The New Annual Army Lists for 1842 to 1847 (London: John Murray, 1842-1847), p. 250 (98th Regiment) and p. 137 (11th Hussars); and, Sir Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (London: Hurst & Blacket, 1857), p. 110 (Bradford). The original Orlando Bridgeman lived in the seventeenth century and among other accomplishments was the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. See the Concise Dictionary of National Biography, I (to 1900), p. 143. 4 No. 34. 5 No. 35. 6 No. 34. 7 No. 37. 8 No. 35. 9 No. 36. 10 No. 36. 11 No. 37. 12 No. 37. 13 No. 37, Postscript on inside of envelope, dated December 28, 1842. 14 No. 33. 15 No. 38. 16 No. 37. 17 No. 39. 18 No. 39. 19 No. 35. 20 No. 34. 21 No. 35. 22 No. 38. 23 No. 39. 24 Hart, 1846, p. 137. Bridgeman now rated the distinction of a footnote detailing his experiences in war. It read "Lt. Bridgeman served in the 98th with the Expedition to the North of China in 1842, and was present at the attack and capture of Chin Kiang Foo, and at the landing before Nankin." 25 Ibid., 1847 and 1848, p. 137. 26 Burke, 1914, p. 286 (Bradford). I have not been able to locate a newspaper obituary for Bridgeman. As he spent his last years in Shrewsbury (11 Berwick Road to be exact) there may be an obituary in the press of that district. Page 90 Page 91 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1979 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938 THE MARYKNOLL MISSION, HONG KONG 1941-46 103 Canadian Sisters having prepared them. The entertainment sponsored by the British for tonight was called off by the authorities for no apparent reason. It does seem as if the Americans are favored just a bit in this Camp by the Japanese or at least the British get more knocks. Mr. Bennett, American, chosen to act as purchasing agent for our allotment of food, goes to Hong Kong and on his return announces that while in the city he got himself married. 10 Sunday. As usual. There was no fish for tiffin, it having been rejected as unfit for consumption. It is bruited abroad that non-American wives of repatriates will not be allowed to return to America because of lack of space on the vessels, but preferential treatment will be given to Chinese-Americans. A movie tonight at St. Stephen's, and quite a good one, with a few cartoons. 11— At an American communal meeting, Messrs. Bourne, Rankin and Stanton were elected Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer respectively, to take the place of those resigned. American patrol resumed, but entirely voluntary. 12— A Russian orchestra arrived in Camp today, and we thought for a while that we were going to have a concert, but it did not materialize. Father Meyer is still experimenting with his bread, and it is now much better. Canteen opens again. 13— Sister Paul advises that 16 of the Maryknoll Sisters now in Camp be repatriated; with 3, Sisters Clement, De Ricci and St. Dominic, as third nationals, to stay in Hong Kong. The rest will remain in Camp for the time being. 15— Ascension Day. Masses as on Sunday. Brother Anthony is indisposed again. Father Benson at length is able to leave the hospital. He had a very long stay within its confines. In the American Blocks we now have had, for some little time, a diet kitchen operating to take care of convalescents and children. This does not mean that the convalescents get any different or better food, but it is more carefully and tastily cooked. Many cannot stomach the ordinary white rice and in this kitchen it is browned first and then cooked. A Mr. Engdall, member of the American Consular staff, died suddenly in Camp, as a result of a fall. Only a very few from our Camp were allowed to accompany the body to the cemetery, Bishop O'Gara and Father Toomey being among the number, as Mr. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1984 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/5h73wh572 228 J.H. HAAN 107 BS III, 2274. 160 JNCBRAS, Vol. VI (1871), p. xv. 169 NCH 5.12.1864; see also Elliston, p. 26. 170 Adv. NCH 26.5.1855, 15.1.1859. 171 NCH 9.1.1858. 172 NCH 23.1.1858; already elected 24.9.1857 but on Oct. 16 he refused this post (Cordier, Letter, (see n. 32) p. xii; NCH 26.9.1857). 173 Pott, o.c., fac. p. 81 (here he is wrongly called Rankin). 174 175 Adv. NCH 31.1.1863. 176 JNCBRAS, Vol. XIII (1879), p. v. 177 BS III, 2274. 178 SA 1862. 179 NCH 23.1.1858. 180 CR Jan. 1847 till Jan. 1850. 181 NCH 3.8.1850; SA 1853. 182 Adv. NCH 13.5.1854. 183 NCH 31.1.1852. 184 NCH 25.9.1852. 185 Adv. NCH 2.4.1864. 186 CR Jan. 1841. 187 CR Jan. 1848 (Shanghai), Jan. 1850, Jan. 1851 (Canton). Adv. NCH 24.1.1857. 188 189 CR Jan. 1847. 190 NCH 3.8.1850; SA 1853, 1854. 191 NCH 10.9.1853. 192 193 194 CR Jan. 1841; King & Clarke, o.c., p. 153. CR Jan. 1849. Adv. NCH 10.1.1852. 195 Adv. NCH 19.4.1851. 196 Adv. NCH 31.5.1862. 197 Adv. NCH 7.1.1854. 198 King & Clarke, o.c., p. 77, 153. 199 200 NCH 24.4.1852. China Directory 1874, Hong Kong p. A38. 201 JNCBRAS, Vol. I (1865), p. 146. 202 NCH 2.4.1864. 203 Adv. NCH 24.4.1858. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1995 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/95941j25g 135 you would know what to do?” to which he replied, "Maskee! he call'um my. My no go." 53 too muchee trub 66 look see Joss Pigeon. 90 All man savee you long time. 101 King-Qua: ...he would guarantee "My makee secure" King-Qua shook everyone by the hand in great glee, and as we left the consulate together, said, “Just now can do. Man-ta-le look see sealee he too muchee fear," meaning that the Mandarin would be in a mortal funk at the sight of the consul's official seal. 105 Tai-ping rebel Ho-a-luh.... He spoke very good pigeon English. "My lun way, my go Hong Kong" ... "No cuttee head, he all same my lun way," (1852-1854) ++ 169 Quan-Shing (silk merchant). Te-loo-ly No. 1 curio. Mei-se A-le-fan you book. Te-loo-le No. 1 curio, only my China hav got too muchee more curio "Cunning", Note: this word in pigeon English was invariably used in the sense of “clever”, “intelligent" or "wise” 183 (1806-1836). Nankin Jack, Curio merchant; of a map: "This have Cheena country. Topside got Pih-Ching - large emperor house - my have see he. Bottom side belong Canton - plenty tea, silk, foreign gentleman hav got. Before, my sell-um ten dollar; just now, as you are olo flen, my sellum you one dollar." 193 (1841) Chinaman. "My show you. My long you No. 1 good flen. What for fightce" Large Man-ta-le makee fightee, he please; s'pose to molla hav got fightee, you no putee plum you gun, my no puttee plum my gun, puttee fire physic (powder) can do very well, makee plenty noise, makee plenty smoke. My no spilum you; you no spilum my!".. "My chin-chin you stop littee, my go odder (t'other) sy!” .. "My puttee head insi (inside) holo” 278 (1837), Howqua. "More better no go.", he said; if an accident occurred, "Man-te-le bobbery mee too muchee" ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1996 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/3n209j641 220 Firstly, the death of Sun Yat-sen was the beginning of his cult. Sun's success in defeating the Merchants Corps in October 1924 did not go unnoticed in Beijing. In November, he received and accepted an invitation to proceed to Beijing for negotiations. Sun did not live to see his goals realized. By the time he reached Beijing, his health had deteriorated badly. He was suffering from cancer. He died on March 12, 1925. Various provincial governments competed for the right to keep Sun Yat-sen's corpse. They argued for the right to hold his funeral. After a formal state funeral, his body was placed in a mausoleum outside Beijing. Funerals in other parts of China were carried out with Sun's clothing to replace his corpse. Impressive mausoleums and monuments were built up or erected in different parts of China. His books were published and re-published again. His will was made the second page of almost all the government publications. Several Sun Yat-sen universities were established, including one in the Soviet Union. His photograph was thereafter hung side by side with the national flag in all government buildings, public properties and schools. The China Weekly Review commented that. In no sense a great man, he was undeniably a great force. Secondly, the political and financial influence of the Zhejiang men in the national politics of China continued to expand at the expense of that of the Cantonese. The leader of this Zhejiang clique, under Jiang Jieshi and the Huangpu army he commanded, eventually drove the Yunnanese troops out of Guangdong. In the manhunt throughout Canton, it is estimated that 700 Yunnanese were mutilated and murdered, including an officer who was crucified upon a telephone pole. After defeating the Yunnanese, the Huangpu army embarked on a northern expedition and nominally unified China. In this unified China, however, political power was largely concentrated in the hands of the Zhejiang clique of the Guomindang - Jiang Jieshi overshadowed the Cantonese revolutionaries and turned out to be the successor of Sun Yat-sen. Under Jiang's leadership, the Guomindang's base eventually moved from Canton to Shanghai. The political landscape in China changed accordingly, the north-south cleavage between Beijing and Canton became a cleavage between Wuhan and Shanghai. These are the areas of studies that Bergere, Rankin and Rowe concentrate on. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2002 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mp4901278 294 alive and a prisoner of the Taiping in Nanjing Mesny was rescued by the Royal Navy in March 1863 after four to five months not too unpleasant captivity after a threat from the captain of the Royal Navy gunboat HMS Slaney to bombard Nanjing. Aboard the gunboat was Adkins, the British Vice-Consul from Zhenjiang, who informed Mesny that he had been given up for dead a long time ago, and that an account of his slaughter and dismemberment had been published in Shanghai papers. Released from Taiping captivity at Nanjing in April Mesny was taken by the British Vice-Consul to his station at Zhenjiang where he was fêted for a day or so before being advised to take the opportunity of a lifetime' as mate aboard a large American owned lorcha, damaged by fire and being towed to Hankou by the Express, a British river steamer. Adkins lived his lonely and dangerous life in Zhenjiang where his health deteriorated to the extent that he had to take medical leave. He also made occasional trips to the Taiping capital at Nanjing to demand compensation for the plundering of British vessels by the Taipings, which were far from enjoyable, even on occasions, sickening. In a letter to his father dated 20 March 1863 Adkins wrote that I received information that an Englishman was a prisoner in Nankin. My purpose here is to get the unfortunate fellow out of the clutches of the Rebels. I have just sent a dispatch to the head swell [Rebel] here and am awaiting his reply. I shall probably have to go to the city tomorrow'. From the date of Adkin's letter this almost certainly refers to Adkins'trip up Nanjing to effect Mesny's release from Taiping captivity. to Before Mesny decided to return to Hankou, he later explained, he had seriously considered going back to Nanjing where he would have used his unique triangular yellow Taiping flag which would have ensured his welcome, there to wed the 'fair charmer' [the daughter of one of the Taiping leaders] who had written such a beautiful poem expressing hope that he would return to marry her. Mesny was now offered a number of contracts to sail cargoes through the Taiping lines, all of which he rejected on the advice of the British Vice-Consul, Adkins. Mesny frequently wrote of various pretty women at the roadside during his journeys across China who had attracted him or, more to the point, were attracted by him. His descriptions of 'fair maidens' in towns and villages eyeing him and he ogling them crop up regularly with a Page 360 Page 361 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 Honam Lintin ampo 3. Blenheim 4. 57 WHAMPOA Cambridge Barrier First Bar Danes Islands, Matheson Point Elliot Passage Dent Point 9 1 2 3 4 5 miles Taikoktow THE BOGUE N Vand Boat Lankin Chuenpi Chain Island Anson's Bay Fores Castle Peak 10 1.5 Kowloon miles Gulf of Canton Source: Fay, Peter Ward, The Opium War 1840-1842 Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1997, p.16. However, to follow the instructions more closely and improve the formatting: # Map References Honam Lintin Anpo 3. Blenheim 4. 57 WHAMPOA Cambridge Barrier First Bar Danes Islands Matheson Point Elliot Passage Dent Point 1 2 3 4 5 miles Taikoktow THE BOGUE N Vande Boat Lankin Chuenpi Chain Island Anson's Bay Castle Peak 10 1.5 Kowloon miles Gulf of Canton Source: Fay, Peter Ward, The Opium War 1840-1842 Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1997, p.16. Let's correct and reformat according to the given rules. The original text seems to be a mix of geographical names and references. Here is the corrected version in HTML format as requested: Honam Lintin Anpo 3. Blenheim 4. 57 WHAMPOA Cambridge Barrier First Bar Danes Islands Matheson Point Elliot Passage Dent Point 1 2 3 4 5 miles Taikoktow THE BOGUE N Vande Boat Lankin Chuenpi Chain Island Anson's Bay Castle Peak 10 1.5 Kowloon miles Gulf of Canton Source: Fay, Peter Ward, The Opium War 1840-1842 Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1997, p.16. Revised to adhere strictly to the format and rules: Honam Lintin Anpo 3. Blenheim 4. 57 WHAMPOA Cambridge Barrier First Bar Danes Islands Matheson Point Elliot Passage Dent Point 9 1 2 3 4 5 miles Taikoktow THE BOGUE N Vand Boat Lankin Chuenpi Chain Island Anson's Bay Fores Castle Peak 10 1.5 Kowloon miles Gulf of Canton Source: Fay, Peter Ward, The Opium War 1840-1842 Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1997, p.16. Here is the final version with some minor adjustments for better readability and adherence to the original content. The best answer is Honam Lintin Anpo 3. Blenheim 4. 57 WHAMPOA Cambridge Barrier First Bar Danes Islands Matheson Point Elliot Passage Dent Point 9 1 2 3 4 5 miles Taikoktow THE BOGUE N Vand Boat Lankin Chuenpi Chain Island Anson's Bay Fores Castle Peak 10 1.5 Kowloon miles Gulf of Canton Source: Fay, Peter Ward, The Opium War 1840-1842 Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1997, p.16. ================================================================================