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Bible Encyclopedias
China, Asia
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or CHINA , a country of eastern Asia, the principal division of the Chinese empire. In addition to China proper the Chinese Empire includes Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Sin-kiang (East Turkestan, Kulja, Dzungaria, &c., i.e. all the Chinese dependencies lying between. Mongolia on the north and Tibet on the south). Its most southern point is in 18 50 N.; its most northern in 53 25 N.; its most western in 74 E., and its most eastern in 135 E. It lies, however, mainly between 20 and 50 N. and 80 and 130 E. It is considerably larger than the whole of Europe. Though its area has not been exactly ascertained the various estimates closely approximfite, varying between 4,277,ooo and 4,300,000 sq. m. it is bounded N.W., N. and N.E. by Asiatic Russia, along a frontier extending some 6ooo m.; E. by Korea and those parts of the Pacific known as the Yellow Sea and China Sea; S. and S.W. by the China Sea, French Indo-China, Upper Burma and the Himalayan states. It is narrowest in the extreme west. Chinese Turkestan along the meridian of Kashgar (76 E.) has a breadth of but 250 In. It rapidly broadens and for the greater part of its area is over 1800 m. across in a direct N. and S. line. Its greatest length is from the N.E. corner of Manchuria to the S.W. confines of Tibet, a- distance of 3100 m. in a direct line. Its seaboard, about 5000 m. following the indentations of the coast, is almost wholly in China proper, but the peninsula of Liao-tung and also the western shores of the Gulf of Liao-tung are in Manchuria.
China i proper or the Eighteen. Provinces (Ski h-p a-shfng) occupies the south-eastern part of the empire. It is bounded N. by Mongolia, W. by Turkestan and Tibet, S.W. by Burma, S. by Tongking and the gulf of that name, S.E. by the South China Sea, E. by the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, Gulf of Chih-li and Manchuria. Its area is approximately 1,500,000 sq. m.
This vast country is separated from the rest of continental Asia by lofty tablelands and rugged mountain ranges, which determine the general course--west to eastof its principal rivers. On the north and west the Mongolian and Tibetan tablelands present towards China steep escarpments across which are very few passes. On the S.W. and S., on the borders of Yun-nan, high mountains and deep valleys separate China from Burma and Tongking. On the narrow N.E. frontier the transition from the Manchurian plateau to the alluvial plain of northern China is not abrupt, but, before the advent of railways, Manchuria afforded few and difficult means of access to other regions. Thus China was almost cut off from the rest of the world save by sea routes.
I. THE COUNTRY
Western China consists of highlands often sparsely, and eastern China of lowlan.ds densely peopled. Western. China contains the only provinces where the population is under too per sq. m. From the Tibetan and Mongolian tablelands project mountain ranges which, ramifying over the western region, enclose elevated level tracts and lower basins and valleys. East of this mountainous region, which extends into central China and covers probably As to the origin of the names China and Cathay (the medieval name) see below History. According to one theory the name China is of Malay origin, designating originally the region now called Indo-China, but transferred in early times to China proper. By the Chinese the country is often called Shih-pa-shng, the Eighteen Provinces, from the number of its great territorial divisions. It is also called Chung-kwo, the Middle Kingdom, properly used 01 the central part of China, and Hwa-kwo, the Flowery Kingdom.
fully half of the kingdom, are, in the north a great alluvial plain and in the south a vast calcareous tableland traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation (see Mountains and Geology). In north-eastern China there is only one mountain system, the group of hillshighest peak 5060 ft.forming the Shan-tung peninsula. This peninsula was formerly an island, bqt has been attached to the mainland by the growth of the alluvial plain. Besides the broad division of the country into western and eastern China it may also be considered as divided into three regions by the basins of its chief rivers, the Hwang-ho (Yellow river) in the north, the Yangtsze-kiang in the centre, and the Si-kiang (West river) in the south. In the northern provinces of Kan-suh and Shen-si the basins of the Hwang-ho and Yangtszekiang are separated by a mountain chain with various names the eastern termination of the Kuen-lun range of central Asia. These mountains, in China, attain, in the Tsing-ling Shan, a maximum elevation of 13,000 ft. East of Shen-si, in Ho-nan the Fu-niu-shan continue the range, but with decreasing elevation, and beyond this the deltaic plain is entered.
The watershed between the Yangtsze-kiang and that of the Si-kiang is less clearly marked. It traverses the immense tableland which occupies a great part of the south-west provinces of Yun-nan and Kwei-chow and is continued eastward by the lower tableland of Kwang-si and the Nanshan hills (whose elevation seldom exceeds 6000 ft.). The basin of the Yangtsze-kiang forms the whole of central China. Its western border, in Sze-chuen and Yun-nan, is wholly mountainous, with heights exceeding 19,000 ft. Central Sze-chuen, which is shut in by these mountains on the west, by the Yun-nan and Kwei-chow plateau on the south, by the Kiu-Iung range on the north, and by highlands eastward (save for the narrow valley through which the Yangtszekiang forces its way), is a vast red sandstone tableland of about 1600 ft. elevation. It is exceedingly fertile and supports a dense population. Eastward of Sze-chuen the Yangtsze valley is studded with lakes. Finally it enters the deltaic plain. The basin of the Si-kiang fills the two southern provinces of Kwang-si and Kwang-tung and contains no very striking orographic features. It may be added that in the extreme S.W. portion of China is part of a fourth drainage area. Here the Mekong, Salween, Song-koi (Red river), &c. flow south to Indo-China.
The Coast.The coast-line, following all the minor indentations, is reckoned at over 4500 m.; if only the larger inlets and promontories be regarded, the coast-line is about 2150 m. in length. Its shape is that of a semicircle, with its most easterly point midway (30 N.) between its northern and southern extremities. At either end of this semicircular sweep lies a peninsula, and beyond the peninsula a gulf. In the north are the peninsula of Shan-tung and the gulf of Chih-li; in the south the Lien-chow peninsula and the gulf of Tongking. Due south of Lien-chow peninsula, separated from it by a narrow strait, is Hai-nan, the only considerable island of China. From the northern point of the gulf of Chih-li to 30 N., where is 1-lang-chow bay, the shores are flat and alluvial save where the Shan-tung peninsula juts out. Along this stretch there are few good natural harbours, except at the mouths of rivers and in the Shan-tung promontory; the sea is shallow and has many shoals. The waters bordering the coast of Chih-li are partly frozen in winter; at to m. from the shore the water is only 20 ft. deep The proximity of Peking gives its few ports importance; that of Taku is at the mouth of the Peiho. In Shan-tung, deeply indented on its southern coast, are the ports of Chi-fu, Wei-hai-wei and Tsing-tao (the last in Kiao-chow bay). South of Shan-tung and north of the mouth of the Yangtsze huge sandbanks border the coast, with narrow channels between them and the shore. The estuary of the Yan~tsze is 60 m. across; it contains islands and sancibanks, but there is easy access to Wusung (Shanghai) and other river ports. The bay of Hangchow, as broad at its entrance as the Yangtsze estuary, forms the mouth of the Tsien-tang-kiang. The Chusan and other groups of islands lie across the entrance of the bay.
South of Hang-chow bay the character of the coast alters. In place of the alluvial plain, with flat, sandy and often marshy shores, the coast is generally hilly, often rocky and abrupt; it abounds in small indentations and possesses numerous excellent harbours; in this region are Fu-chow, Amoy, Swatow, Hongkon~, Macao, Canton and other well-known ports. The whole of this coast is bordered by small islands. Formosa lies opposite the S.E. coast, the channel between it and Fu-kien province being about 100 m. wide. Formosa protects the neighboring regions of China from the typhoons experienced farther north and farther south.
Surface.As already indicated, one of the most noticeable features .k_ ._r,~. ci.:.... ~ ~ ~j,,-.:. .1.:.. ~., i... ,~._.i.
eastern portion of the country, which, curving round the mountainous districts of Shan-tung, extends for about 700 m. in a southerly direction from the neighborhood of Peking and varies from 150 to 500 m. in breadth. This plain is the delta of tIeltaiC the Yellow river and, to some extent, that of the Yangtsze- plain. kiang also. Beginning in the prefecture of Yung-ping Fu, in the provrnce of Chih-Ii, its outer limit passes in a westerly direction as far as Chang-ping Chow, north-west of Peking. Thence running a south-south-westerly course it passes westward of Chng-ting Fu and Kwang-ping Fu till it reaches the upper waters of the Wei river in Ho-nan. From this point it turns westward and crosses the Hwang-ho or Yellow river in the prefecture of Hwai-king. Leaving this river it takes a course a little to the east of south, and passing west of Ju-ning Fu, in the province of Ho-nan, it turns in a more easterly direction as far as Luchow Fu. From this prefecture an arm of the plain, in which lies the Chao Lake, stretches southward from the Hwai river to the Yangtsze--kiang, and trending eastward occupies the region between that river and Hangchow Bay. To the north of this arm rises a hilly district, in the centre of which stands Nanking. The greater part of this vast plain descends very gently towards the sea, and is generally below the level of the Yellow river, hence the disastrous inundations which so often accompany the rise of that river. Owing to the great quantity of soil which is brought down by the waters of the Yellow river, and to the absence of oceanic currents, this delta is rapidly increasing and the adjoining seas are as rapidly, becoming shallower. As an instance, it is said that the town of Putai was one Chinese milei west of the seashore in the year 200 B.C., and in 1730 it was 140 m. inland, thus giving a yearly encroachment upon the sea of about 100 ft. Again, Sienshwuy-kow on the Peiho was on the seashore in A.D. 500, and it is now about 18 m. inland.
Some of the ranges connected with the mountain system of central Asia which enter the western provinces of China have been mentioned above, others may be indicated here. In the M eastern portion of Tibet the Kuen-lun range throws off ~ 01111 a number of branches, which spread first of all in a south- a ilS~ easterly direction and eventually take a north and south course, partly in the provinces of Sze-chuen and Yun-nan, where they divide the beds of the rivers which flow into Siam and French Indo-China, as well as the principal northern tributaries of the Yangtsze-kiarig. In the north-west, traversing the western portion of the province of Kan-suh, are parallel ranges running NW. and S.E. and forming a prolongation of the northern Tibetan mountains. They are known as the Lung-shan, Richthofen and Nan-shan, and join on the southeast the Kuen-lun range. The Richthofen range (locally called Tien- shan, or Celestial Mountains)attains elevations of over 20,000 ft. Several of its peaks are snowclad, and there are many glaciers. Forming the northern frontier of the province of Sze-chuen run the Min-shan and the Kiu-lung(or Po-mng) ranges,which, entering china in 102 E., extend in a general easterly course as far as 112 E. in the province of Hu-peh. These ranges have an average elevation of 8000 and 11,000 ft. respectively. In the south a number of parallel ranges spread from the Yun-nan plateau in an easterly direction as far as the province of Kwang-tung. Then turning north-eastward they run in lines often parallel with the coast, and cover large areas of the provinces of Fu-kien, Kiang-si, Cheh-kiang, Hu-nan and southern Ngan-hui, until they reach the Yangtsze-kiang; the valley of that river from the Tung-ting Lake to Chinkiang Fu formrng their northern boundary. In Fu-kien these hills attain the character of a true mountain range with heights of from 6500 to nearly 10,000 ft. Besides the chief ranges there are the Tai-han~ Mountains in Shan-si, and many others, among which may be mentioned the ranges part of the escarpment of the Mongolian plateauwhich form the northern frontier of Chili-li. Here the highest peak is Ta-kuangting-tzu (6500 ft.), about 300 m. N.N.E. of Peking and immediately north of Wei Ch~ang (the imperial hunting grounds).
Rivers and Canals.The rivers of China are very numerous and there are many canals. In the north the rivers are only navigable by small craft; elsewhere they form some of the most fre- Th ~
quentedhighways in the country. The two largest rivers, e e OW the Yangtsze-kiang and the Hwang-ho (Yellow river), are separately noticed. The Hwang-ho (length about 2400 m:) has only one important tributary in China, the Wei-ho, which rises in Kan-suh and flows through the centre of Shen-si. Below the confluence the Hwang-ho enters the plains. According to the Chinese records this portion of the river has changed its course nine times during 2500 years, and has emptied itself into the sea at different mouths, the most northerly of which is iepresented as having been in about 3~ N., or in the neighborhood of the present mouth of the Peiho, and the most southerly being that which existed before the change in 1851-1853. in 34 N. Owing to its small value as a navigable highway and to its propensity to inundate the regions in its neighborhood, there are no considerable towns on rts lower course.
The Yangtsze-kiang is the chief waterway of China. The river, flowing through the centre of the country, after a course of 2900 m., empties itself into the Yellow Sea in about 31 N. Unlike the Yellow river, the Yangtsze-kiang is dotted along its navigable portions with many rich and populous cities, among which are Nanking, An-ching (Nganking), Kiu-kiang, Hankow and I-ch~ang.
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From its mouth to I-chang, about 1000 m., the river is navigable by large steamers Above this last-named city the navigation becomes impossible for any but light native craft or foreign vessels The specially constructed for the navigation, by reason of;anztsze the rapids which occur at frequent intervals in the deep aAzg. mountain gorges through which the river runs between Kwei-chow and I-chang. Above Kwei-chow it receives from the north many tributaries, notably the Mm, which water the low tableland of central Sze-chuen. The main river itself has in this province a considerable navigable stretch, while below I-chang it receives the waters of numerous navigable affluents. The Yangtsze system is thus all important in the economic and commercial development of China.
Perhaps the most remarkable of the affluents of the Yangtsze is the Han-kiang or Han river. It rises in the Po~mng mountains to the north of the city of Ning-kiang Chow in Shen-si. Taking a generally easterly course from its source as far as Fan-cheng, it from that point takes a more southerly direction and empties itself into the Yangtsze-kiang at Han-kow, the mouth of the Han. Here it is only 200 ft. wide, while higher up it widens to 2600 ft. It is navigable by steamers for 300 m. The summer high-water line is for a great part of its course, from I-cheng Hien to Han-kow, I above the level of its banks. Near Sien-tao-chfin the elevation of the plain above low water is no more than I ft., and in summer the river rises about 26 ft. above its lowest level. To protect themselves against inundations the natives have here, as elsewhere, thrown up high embankments on both sides of the river, but at a distance from the natural banks of about 5o to 100 ft. This intervening space is flooded every year, and by the action of the water new layers of sand and soil are deposited every summer, thus strengthening the embankments from season to season.
The Hwai-ho is a large river of east central China flowing between the Hwang-ho and the Yangtsze-kiang. The Hwai-ho and its numerous affluents (it is said to have 72 tributaries) rise in Ho-nan. The main river flows through the centre of Ngan-hui, in which province it receives from the N.W. the Sha-ho, Fei-ho and other important affluents. Formerly it received through the Sha-ho part of the waters of the Hwang-ho. The Hwai-hoflows into the Hungtso lake, through which it feeds the Grand Canal, not far from the old course of the Hwang-ho, and probably at one time joined that river not far from its mouth. It has a length of about 800 In. and is navigable from the point where it leaves the hill country of Ho-nan to Lake Hungtso. It is subject to violent floods, which inundate the surrounding country for a distance of 10 to 20 m. Many of its tributaries are also navigable for considerable distances.
Next in importance to the Yangtsze-kiang as a water highway is the Yun-ho, or, as it is generally known in Europe, the Grand Canal.
This magnificent artificial river reaches from Hang-chow Grand Fu in the province of Cheh-kiang to Tientsin in Chih-ii, CanaL where it unites with the Peiho, and thus may be said to extend to Tung-chow in the neighborhood of Peking. According to the itineraries published by Pre Gandar, the total length of the canal is 3630 li, or about 1200 m. A rough measurement, taking, account only of the main bends of the canal, makes its length 850 m. After leaving Hang-chow the canal passes round the eastern border of the Tai-hu or Great Lake, surrounding in its course the beautiful city of Su-chow, and thei~ trends in a generally north-westerly direction through the fertile districts of Kiang-su as far as Chinkiang on the Yangtsze-kiang. In this, the southern section, the slope is gentle and water is plentiful (from 7 ft. at low water to II ft., and occasionally 13 ft. at high water). Between So-chow and Chinkiang the canal is often over 100 ft. wide, and its sides are in many places faced with stone. It is spanned by fine stone bridges, and near its banks are many memorial arches and lofty pagodas. In the central portion of the canal, that is between Chin-kiang and Tsingkiang-pu, at which latter place it crosses the dry channel which marks the course of the Yellow river before 1852, the current is strcng and difficult to ascend in the upward (northern) journey. This part of the canal skirts several lakes and is fed by the Hwai-ho as it issues from the Htingtso lake. The country lying west of the canal is higher than its bed; while the country east is lower than the canal, The two regions are known respectively as Shang-ho (above the river) and Ssia-ho (below the river). Waste weirs opening on the Ssia-ho (one of the great rice-producing areas of China) discharge the surplus water in flood seasons. The northern and considerably the longest section of the canal, extends from the old bed of the Yellow river to Tientsin. It largely utilizes existing rivers and follows their original windings. Between Tsing-kiang-pu and the present course of the Yellow river the canal trends N.N.W., skirting the highlands of Shan-tung. In this region it passes through ~ series of lagoons, which in summer form one lakeChow-yang. North of that lake on the east bank of the canal, is the city of Tsi-ning-chow. About 25 m. N. of that city the highest level of the canal is reached at the town of Nan Wang. Here the river Wen enters the canal from the east, and about 30 m. farther N. the Yellow river is reached. On the west side of the canal, at the point whee the Yellow river now cuts across it, there is laid down in Chinese maps of the 18th century a dry channel which is described as being that once followed by the Yellow river, i.e. before it took the channel it abandoned in 1851-1853. The passage of the Yellow river to the part of the canal)vin,r nr,rth of thi~t stream is difficult, and can only be effected at certain levels of the river. Frequently the waters of the river are either too low or the current is too strong to permit a passage. Leaving this point the canal passes through a well-wooded and hilly country west of Tung-ping Chow and east of Tung-chang Fu. At Lin-ching Chow it is joined at right angles by the Wei river in the midst of the city. Up to this point, i.e. from Tsing-kiang-pu to Lin-ching Chow, a distance of over 300 m., navigation is difficult and the wffter-supply often insufficient. The differences of level, 20 to 30 ft., are provided for by barrages over which the boats having discharged their cargoare hauled by windlasses. Below the junction with the Wei the canal borrows the channel of the river and again becomes easily navigable. Crossing the frontier into Chih-li, between Te Chow and Tsang Chow, which it passes to the west, it joins the Peiho at Tientsin, after having received the waters of the Keto river in the neighborhood of Tsing Hien.i The most ancient part of the canal is the section between the Yangtsze and the Hwai-ho. This part is thought, on the strength of a passage in one of the books of Confucius, to have been built C. 486 B.C. It was repaired and enlarged in the 3rd century A.n. The southern part, between the Yangtsze and Hang-chow, was built early in the 7th century A.D. The northern part is stated to have been constructed in the three years 1280-1283. The northern portion of the canal is now of little use as a means of communication between north and south.2 It is badly built, neglected and charged with the mud-laden waters of the Yellow river. The tribute fleet bearing rice to Peking still uses this route; but the rice is now largely forwarded by sea. The central and southern portions of the canal are very largely used.
The Peiho (length about 350 m.) is of importance as being the high waterway to Peking. Taking its rise in the Si-shan, or Western Mountains, beyond Peking, it passes the city of Tsung-chow, the port of Peking, ancj Tientsin, where it meets the waters of the Hun-ho and empties itself into ,the gulf of Chih-li at the village ot Taku. The Peiho is navigable for small steamers as far as Tientsin during the greater part of the year, but from the end of November to the beginning of March it is frozen up.
In the southern provinces the Si-kiang, or Western river, is the most considerable. It has a length of over 1000 m. This river takes its rise in the prefecture of Kwang-nan Fu in Yun-nan, whence it reaches the frontier of Kwang-si at a distance The of about 90 li from its source. Then trending in a north- SiIang. easterly direction it forms the boundary between the two provinces for about 150 ii. From this point it takes a generally south-easterly course, passing the cities of Tsien Chow, Fung-e Chow, Shang-lifi Hien, Lung-ngan Hien, Yung-kang Chow and Nan-ning Fu to Yungshan Hien. Here it makes a bend to the north-east, and continues this general direction as far as Sin-chow Fu, a distance of 800 ii, where it meets and joins the waters of the Kien-kiang from the north. Its course is then easterly, and after passing Wu-chow Fu it crosses the frontier into Kwang-tung. In this, part of its course it flows through a gorge 3 In. long and in places but 270 yds. in width. Both above and below this gorge it is I In. wide. Some 30 m. above Canton it divides into two main and several small branches. The northern branch, called Chu-kiang, or Pearl river, flows past Fatshan and Canton and reaches the sea through the estuary called the Bocca Tigris or Bogue, at the mouth of which is the island of HongKong. Fhe southern branch, which retains the name of Si-kiang, reaches the sea west of Macao. Near the head of its delta the Sikiang receives the Pei-kiang, a considerable river which flows through Kwang-tung in a general N. to S. direction, Like the Yangtszekiang the Si-kiang is known by various names in different parts of its course. From its source to Nan-ning Fu in Kwang-si it is called the Si-yang-Iciang, or river of the Western Ocean; from Nan-ning Fu to Sin-chow Fu it is known as the Yu-kiang, or the Bending river; and over the remainder of its course it is recognized by the name of the Si-kiang, or Western river. The Si-kiang is navigable as far as Shao-king, 130 m., for vessels not drawing more than 13 ft. of water, and vessels of a light draught may easily reach Wu-chow Fu, in Kwang.si, which is situated 75 m. farther up. In winter the navigation is difficult above Wu-chow Fu. Above that place there is a rapid at low water, but navigation is possible to beyond Nan-ning Fu.
Lakes.There are numerous lakes in the central provinces of China. The largest of these is the Tung-ting in flu-nan, which, according to the Chinese geographers, is upwards of 800 ii, or 266 m., in circumference. In native gazetteers its various portions are known under distinct names; thus it is said to include the Ts~ing-tsao, or Green Grass Lake; the iJng, or Venerable Lake; the Chih-sha, or Red Sand Lake; the Hwang-yih, or Imperial Post-house Lake; the Ngan-nan, or Peaceful Southern Lake; and the Ta-tung, or l For the Grand Canal the chief authority is Dominique Gandar, S.J., Le Canal Imperial. etude historique et descriptive, Varfifts sinologiques No. 4 (Shanghai, 1903); see also Stenz, Der Kaiserkanal, in Beitragen zur Kolonialpolitik, Band v. (Berlin, 1903-1904), and the works of Ney Elias, Sir J. F. Davis, A. Williamson, E. H. Parker and W. R. Caries.
Nevertheless there is considerable local traffic. The transit trade with Shan-tung, passing the Chin-kiang customs and using some 250 m. of the werst part of the canal, was valued in 1905 at ,~.i~1.ooo taels.
Great Deep Lake. In ancient times it went by the name of the Kiu-kiang Hu, or Lake of the Nine Rivers, from the fact that nine rivers flowed into it. Its chief affluents are the Siang~kiang, which rises in the highlands in the north of Kwang-si and flows in a general N.N.E. ,direction, and the Yuen-kiang, which flows N. and then E. from the eastern border of Kwei-chow. The lake is connected with the Yangtsze-kiang by two canals, the Taping and the Yochow Fu. In summer it is fed by the overflow from the Yangtsze-kiang; in winter it pours its waters into that river through the Yochow Fu canal. During the winter and spring the water of the lake is so low that the shallow portions become islands, separated by rivers such as the Siang and Yuen, and numberless streams; but in summer, owing to the rise in the waters of the Yangtsze-kiang, the whole basin of the lake is filled. It is then about 75 m. long and 60 m. broad. About 180 m. E. of the Tung-ting lake is the Poyang lake, which occupies the low-lying part of the province of Kiang-si, and is connected with the Yangtsze by the Hu-kow caiial. The Poyang lake is also subject to a wide difference between high and low water, but not quite to the same extent as the Tung-ting lake, and its landmarks are more distinctly defined. It is about 90 m. long by 20 broad. The Tai lake, in the neighborhood of Su-chow Fu, is also celebrated for its size and the beauty of its surroundings. It is about 150 m. in circumference, and is dotted over with islands, on which are built temples for the devotees of religion, and summerhouses for the votaries of pleasure from the rich and voluptuous cities of Hang-chow and Su-chow. The boundary line between the provinces of Cheh-kiang and Kiang-su crosses its blue waters, and its shores are divided among thirteen prefectures. Besides these lakes there are, among others, two in Yun-nan, the Kun-yang-hai (Tien-chi) near Yun-nan Fu, which is 40 m. long and is connected with the Yangtsze-kiang by the Pu-to river, and the Erh-hai (Urhhai) to the east of the city of Tall.
The Great Wall.Along the northern provinces of Chih-li, Shan-si, Shen-si and Kan-suh, over 220 of longitude (98 to I 20 E.), stretches the Great Wall of China, built to defend the country against foreign aggression. It was begun in the 3rd century n.e., was repaired in the 15th century, and in the 16th century was extended by 300 m. Following the windings the wall is 1500 m. long. Starting near the seashorei at Shan-hai-kwan on the gulf of Liao-tung, where the Chinese and Manchurian frontiers meet, it goes eastward past Peking (which is abqut 35 m. to the south) and then trends S. and E. across Shan-si to the Hwang-ho. From the neighborhood of Peking to the Hwang-ho there is an inner and an outer wall. The outer (northern) wall passes through Kalgan, thus guarding the pass into Mongolia. A branch wall separates the greater part of the western frontier of Chih-li from Shah-si. West of the Hwang-ho the Great Wall forms the northern frontier of Shen-si, and west of Shen-si it keeps near the northern frontier of Kan-suh, following for some distance in that province the north bank of the Hwang-ho. It ends at Kiayu-kwan (98 I4 E.) just west of Su-chow. This part of the wall was built to protect the one main artery leading from central Asia to China through Kan-suh and Shen-si by the valley of the Wei-ho, tributary of the Hwang-ho. There is a branch wall in Kan.suh running west and south to protect the Tibetan frontier. The height of the wall is generally from 20 to 30 ft., and at intervals of some 200 yds. are towers about 40 ft. high. Its base is from 15 to 25 ft. thick and its summit 12 ft. wide. The wall is carried over valleys and mountains, and in places is over 4000 ft. above sea-level. Military posts are still maintained at the chief gates or passesat Shan-hai-kwan, the Kalgan pass, the Yenmun pass (at the N. of Shan-si) and the Kaiyu pass in the extreme west, through which runs the caravan route to Barkal in Turkestan. Colonel A. W. S. Wingate, who in the opening years of the 20th century visited the Great Wall at over twenty places widely apart and gathered many descriptions of it in other places, states that its position is wrongly shown on the maps of the day (1907) in a number of places; while in others it had ceased to exist, the only places where it forms a substantial boundary being in the valley bottoms, on the passes and where it crosses main routes. These remarks apjly with particular force to the branch running southwest from the Nan-kow pass and forming the boundary of Chih-li and Shan-si provinces. In Colonel Wingates opinion the wall was originally built by degrees and in sections, not of hewn stone, but of round boulders and earth, the different sections being repaired as they fell into ruin. Only in the valley bottoms and on the passes was it composed of masonry or brickwork. The Mings rebuilt of solid masonry all those sections through which led a likely road for invading Tatars to follow, or where it could be seen at a distance from the sky-line. The building of the wall was a sufficiently simple affair, not to be compared with the task of building the pyramids-of Egypt2
i The portion of the wall which abutted on to the sea has been destroyed.
2 See the Geog. Jnl. (Feb. and March 1907). For a popular account of the wall, with numerous photographs, see The Great Wall of China (London, 1909), by W. E. Giel, who in 1908 followed its course from east to west. Consult also A. Williamson, Journey in North China (London, 1870); Martin, La Grande Muraille de Ia Chine, Revue scientifique (1891).
Climate-The climate over so vast an area as China necessarily varies greatly. The southern parts of Yun-nan, Kwang-si and Kwang-tung (including the city of Canton) lie within the tropics. The northern zone (in which lies Peking) by contrast has a climate which resembles that of northern Europe, with winters of Arctic severity. The ceIitral zone (in which Shanghai is situated) has a g~enerally temperate climate. But over both northern and central China the influence of the great plateau of Mongolia tends to establish uniform conditions unusual in so large an area. The prevailing winds during summerthe rainy seasonare south-easterly, caused by heat and the ascending current of air over the sandy deserts of central Asia, thus drawing in a current from the Pacific Ocean. In the winter the converse takes place, and the prevailing winds, descending from the Mongolian plateau, are north and north-west, and are cold and dry. From October to Ma>T the climate of central China is bracing and enjoyable. The rainfall is moderate and regular.
In northern China the inequalities both of temperature and rainfall are greater than in th.3 central provinces. In the province of Chih-li, for example, the heat of summer is as intense as is the cold of winter. In summer the rains often render the plain swampy, while the dry persistent westerly winds of spring create dust storms (experienced in Peking from March to June). The rainfall is, however, uncertain, and thus the harvests are precarious. The provinces of Shan-tung and Shan-si are peculiarly liable to prolonged periods of drought, with consequent severe famines such as that of 1877--1878, when many millions died. In these regions the air is generally extremely dry, and the daily variations of temperature consequent on excessive radiation are much greater than farther south.
Accurate statistics both of heat and rainfall are available from a few stations only. The rainfall on the southern coasts is said to be about 100 in. yearly; at Peking the rainfall is about 24 in. a year. In the coast regions the temperatures of Peking, Shanghai and Canton may be taken as typical of those of the northern, central and southern zones. In Peking (39 N.) the mean annual temperature isabouts3F.,themeanforJanuary 23, for July 79. In Shanghai (31 II N.)i the mean annual temperature is 59, the mean for January 36.2, for July 80.4. In CantOn (23 15 N.) the mean annua temperature is 70, the mean for January 54, for July 820. The range of temperature, even within the tropics, is noteworthy. At Peking and Tientsin the thermometer in winter falls sometimes to 5 below zero and rises in summer to 105 (at Taku 107 has been recorded); in Shanghai in winter the thermometer falls to 18 and in summer rises to 102. In Canton frost is said to have been recorded, but according to the China Sea Directory the extreme range is from 38 to ~0o.~ The climate of Shanghai, which resembles, but is not so good as, that of the Yangtszc-kiangvalleygenerally, is fairly healthy, but there is an almost constant excess of moisture. The summer months, July to September, are very hot, while snow usually falls in December and January.
At Canton and along the south coast the hot season corresponds with the 5.W. monsoon; the cool seasonmid October to end of Aprilwith the N.E. monsoon. Farther north, at Shanghai, the S.W. monsoon is sufficiently felt to make the prevailing wind in summer southerly.
Provinces.China proper is divided into the following provinces:
Cheh-kiang, Chih-li, Fu-kien, Ngan-hui (An-hui), Ho-nan, Hu-nan, Hu-peh, Kan-suh, Kiang-si, Kiang-su, Kwang-si, Kwang-tung, Kwei~chow, Shan-si, Shan-tung, Shen-si, Sze-chuen and Yun-nan.
See the separate notices of each province and the article on Shngking, the southern province of Manchuria. X.
Geology.
The Palaeozoic formations of China, excepting only the upper part of the Carboniferous system, are marine, while the Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits are estuarine and freshwater or else of terrestrial origin. From the close of the Palaeozoic period down to the present day the greater part of the empire has been dry land, and it is only in the southern portion of Tibet and in the western Tian Shan that any evidence of a Mesozoic sea hasyet been found. The geological sequence may be summarized as follows: A rchean.Gneiss, crystalline schists, phyllites, crystalline lime- stones. Exposed ~n Liao-tung, Shan-tung, Shan-si, northern Chih-li and in the axis of the mountain ranges, e.g. the Ktien-lun and the ranges of scuthern China.
Sinian.Sandstones, quartzites, limestones. Sometimes rests unconformably upon the folded rocks of the Archaen system; but sometimes, according to Lczy, there is no unconformity. Covers a large area in the northern part of China proper; absent in the eastern Kuen-lun; occurs again in the ranges of S.E. China, in Liao-tung Cambrian fossils have been found near the summit of the series; they belong to the oldest fauna known upon the earth, the fauna of the Olenellus zone. It is, however, not improbable that in many places beds of considerably later date have been included in the Sinian system. ___________________________
For Shanghai the figures are compiled from twenty-six years observations. See China Sea Directory, vol. iii. (4th ed., 1904) p. 660.
The thermometer registered 23 F. in January 1893, on the river 28 m. below Canton. This is ,the lowest reading known. ibid. pp. Io4-I05~
Ordovician.Ordovician fossils have been found in the Lungshan, Kiang-su (about 50 m. east of Nan-king), in the south-west of Cheh-kiang and in the south-east of Yun-nan. Ordovician beds probably occur also in the Kuen-lun.
Silurian.Limestones and slates wIth Silurian corals and other fossils have been found in Sze-chuen.
Devonian.Found in Kan-suh and in the Tsing-ling-shan, but becomes much more important in southern China. Occurs also on the south of the Tian-shan, in the Altyn-tagh, the Nan-fhan and the western Kuen-lun.
Carboniferous.Covers a large area in northern China, in the plateau of Shen-si and Shan-si, extending westwards in tongues between the folds of the Kuen-lun. In this region it consists of a lower series of limestones and an upper series of sandstones with seams of coal, which may perhaps be in part of Permian age. This is probably the most extensive coalfield in the world.
In south China the whole series consists chiefly of limestones, and the coal seams are comparatively unimportant. Carboniferous beds are also found in the Tian-shan, the Nan-shan, Kan-suh, on the southern borders of the Gobi, &c.
Mesozoic.-Marine Triassic beds containing fossils similar to those of the German Muschelkalk have been found by Lczy near Chungtien, on the eastern border of the Tibetan plateau. Elsewhere, however, the Mesozoic is represented chiefly by a red sandstone, which covers the greater part of Sze-chuen and fills also a number of troughs amongst he older beds of southern China. No marine fossils are found in this sandstone, but remains of plants are numerous, and these belong to the Rhaetic, Lias and Lower Oolite. No Cretaceous beds are known in China excepting in S. Tibet (on the shores of the Tengri-nor) and in the western portion of the Tian-shan.
Cainozoic and RecentNo marine deposits of this age are known. Although the bess of the great plain and the sand of the desert are still in process of formation, the accumulation of these deposits probably began in the Tertiary period.
Volcanic Rocks.Amongst the Archean rocks granitic and other intrusions are abundant, but of more modern volcanic activity the remains are comparatively scanty. In south China there is no evidence of Tertiary or Post-Tertiary volcanoes, hut groups of volcanic cones occur in the great plain of north China. In the Liao-tung and Shan-tung peninsulas there are basaltic plateaus, and similar outpourings occur upon the borders of Mongolia. All these outbursts appear to be of Tertiary or later data.
Loess.One of the most characteristic deposits of China is the bess, which not merely imparts to north China the physical character of the scenery, but also determines the agricultural products, the transport, and general economic life of the people of that part of the country. It is peculiar to north China and it is not found south of the Yangtsze. The bess is a solid but friable earth of brownish-yellow color, and when triturated with water is not unlike loam, but differs from the latter by its highly porous and tubular structure. The bess soil is extremely favorable to agriculture. (See LoEss and infra, Agriculture.)
The bess is called by the Chinese Hwang-tu, or yellow earth, and it has been suggested that the imperial title Hwang-ti, Yellow Emperor or Ruler of the Yellow, had its origin in the fact that the emperor is lord of the bess or yellow earth.
Structurally, China proper may be divided into two regions, separated from each other by the folded range of the Tsing-lingStructure shan, which is a continuation of the folded belt of the Kuen-lun. North of this chain the Palaeozoic beds are in general nearly horizontal, and the linsestones and sandstones of the Sinian and Carboniferous systems form an extensive plateau which rises abruptly from the western margin of the great plain of northern China. The plateau is deeply carved by the rivers which flow through it; and the strata are often faulted, but they are never sharply folded. South of the Tsing-ling.shan, on the other hand, the Palaeozoic beds are thrown into a series of folds running from W. 30 S. to E. 30 N., which form the hilly region of southern China. Towards Tongking these folds probably bend southwards and join the folds of Further India. Amongst these folded beds lie trough-like depressions filled with the Mesozoic red sandstone which lies unconformably upon the Palaeozoic rocks.
The present configuration of China is due, in a very considerable degree, to faulting. The abrupt eastern edge of the Shan-si plateau, where it overlooks the great plain, is a line of fault, or rather a series of step faults, with the downthrow on the east; and von Richthofen has shown reason to believe that this line of faulting is continued far to the south and to the north. He believed also that the present coast-line of China has to a large extent been determined by similar faults with their downthrow on the east.
Concerning the structure of the central Asian plateau our knowledge is still incomplete. The great mountain chains, the Kuenbun, the Nan-shan and the Tian-shan, are belts of folding; but the Mongolian Altai is a horsta strip of ancient rock lying between two faults and with a depressed area upon each side. In the whole of this northern region faulting, as distinct from folding, seems to have played an important part. Along the southern margin of the Tian-shan there is a remarkable trough-like depression which appears to lie between two approximately parallel faults. (P. LA.)
Fauna.
China lies within two zoological provinces or regions, its southern portion forming a part of the Oriental or Indian region and having a fauna close akin to that of the western Himalaya, Burma and Siam, whereas the districts to the north of Fu-chow and south of the Yangtsze-kiang lie within the eastern Holarctic (Palaearctic) region, or rather the southern fringe of the latter, which has been separated as the Mediterranean transitional region. Of these two divisions of the Chinese fauna, the northern one is the more interesting, since it forms the chief home of a number of peculiar generic types, and also includes types represented elsewhere at the present day (exclusive in one case of Japan) only in North America. The occurrence in China of these types common to the eastern and western hemispheres is important in regard to the former existence of a land-bridge between Eastern Asia and North America by way of Bering Strait.
Of the types peculiar to China and North America the alligator of the Yangtsze-kiang is generically identical with its Mississippi relative. The spoon-beaked sturgeon of the Yangtsze and Hwang-ho is, however, now separated, as Psephurus, from the closely allied American Polyodon. Among insectivorous mammals the Chinese and Japanese shrew-moles, respectively forming the genera Uropsilus and Urotrichus, are represented in America by Neurotrichus. The giant salamander of the rivers of China and Japan and the Chinese mandarin duck are by some included in the same genera as their American representatives, while by others they are referred to genera apart. Whichever view we take does not alter their close relationship. One wapiti occurs on the Tibetan frontier, and Others in Manchuria and Amurland.
As regards mammals and birds, the largest number of generic and specific types peculiar to China are met with in Sze-chuen. Foremost among these is the great panda (Aeluropus melanoleucus), representing a genus by itself, probably related to bears and to the true panda (Aelurus), the latter of which has a local race in Sze-chuen. Next come the snub-nosed monkeys (Rhino pithecus), of which the typical species is a native of Sze-cliuen, while a second is found on the upper Mekong, and a third in the mountains of central China. In the Insectivora the swimming-shrew (Nectogale) forms another generic type peculiar to Sze-chuen, which is also the sole habitat of the mole-like Scaptochirus, of Uropsilus, near akin to the Japanese Urotrichus, of Scaptonyx, which connects the latter with the moles (Talpa), and of Neotetracu.s, a relative of the Malay rat-shrews (Gymnura). Here also may be mentioned the raccoon-dog, forming the subgenus Nyctereutes, common to China and Japan. The Himalayan black and the Malay bear have each a local race in Sze-chtmen, where the long-haired Fontaniers cat (Felis tristis) and the Tibet cat (F. scripta) connect Indo-Malay species with the American ocebots, while the bay cat (F. temmincki), a Malay type, is represented by local forms in Sze-chuen and Fu-chow. The Amurland leopard and Manchurian tiger likewise constitute local races of their respective species.
Among ruminants, the Sze-chuen takin represents a genus (Budor~ cas) found elsewhere in the Mishmi Hills and Rhutan, while serows (Nemorhaedus) and gorals (Urotragus), allied to Himalayan and Bomb-Malay types, abound. The Himalayan fauna is also represented by a race of the Kashmir hangul deer. Of other deer, the original habitat of Phre Davids milu (Elaphurus), formerly kept in the Peking park, is unknown. The sika group, whichis peculiar tO China, Japan and Formosa, is represented by Cervus hortulorum in Manchuria and the smaller C. inanchuricus and sika in that province and the Yangtsze valley; while musk-deer (Moschus) abound in Kan-suh and Sze-chuen. The small water-deer (Hydropotes or Hydrelaphus) of the Yangtsze valley represents a genus peculiar to the country, as do the three species of tufted deer (Elaphodus), whose united range extends from Sze-chuen to Ning-po and I-chang. Muntjacs (Cervulus) are likewise very characteristic of the country, to which the white-tailed, plum-colored species, like the Tenasserirn C. crinifrons, are peculiar. The occurrence of races of the wapiti in Manchuria and Amurland has been already mentioned.
To reer in detail to the numerous forms of rodents inhabiting China is impossible here, and it must suffice to mention that the flyingsquirrels (Pteromys) are represented by a large and handsome species in Sze-chuen, where is also found the largest kind of bamboo-rat (Rhizomys), the other species of which are natives of the western Himalaya and the Malay countries. Dwarf hamsters of the genus ~ricetulus are natives of the northern provinces. In the extreme south, in Hai-nan, is found a gibbon ape (Hytobates), while langur (Semnopithecus) and macaque monkeys (Macacus) likewise occur in the south, one of the latter also inhabiting Sze-chuen.
To give an adequate account of Chinese ornithology would require space many times the length of this article. The gorgeous mandarin duck (Aix galerita) has already been mentioned among generic types common to America. In marked distinction to this is the number of species of pheasants inhabiting north-western China, whence the group ranges into the eastern Himalaya. Among Chinese species are two of the three species of blood-pheasants (Ithagenes), two tragopans (Ceriornis or Trago pan), a monab (Lophophorus), three out of the five species of Crossoplilunl, the other two being Tibetan, two kinds of Pucrasia, the gorgeous golden and Amhersts pheasants alone representing the genus Chrysolophus, together with several species of the typical genus Phasianus, among which it will suffice to mention the long-tailed P. reevesi. The Himalayan bamboo-partridges (Barnbusfcola) have also a Chinese representative. The only other large bird that can be mentioned is the Manchurian crane, misnamed Grusjaponensis. Pigeons include the peculiar subgenus Dendroteron; while among smaller birds, warblers, tits and finches, all of an Eastern Holarctic type, constitute the common element in the avifauna. Little would be gained by naming the genera, peculiar or otherwise.
China has a few peculiar types of freshwater tcrtoises, among which Ocadia sinensis represents a genus unknown elsewhere, while there is also a species of the otherwise Indian genus Damonia. The Chinese alligator, Alligator sinensis, has been already mentioned. Among lizards, the genera Plestiodon, Mabuia, Tachydromus and Gecko, of which the two latter arc very characteristic of the Oriental region, range through China to Japan; and among snakes, the Malay python (Python reticulatus) is likewise Chinese. The giant salamander (Cryptobranchus, or Megalobatrachus, maximus) represents, as mentioned above, a type found elsewhere only in North America, while Hynobius and Onychodactylus are peculiar generic types of salamanders. Among fishes, it must suffice to refer to the spoonbeaked sturgeon (Psephurus) of the Yangtsze-kiang, and the numerous members of the carp family to be found in the rivers of China. From these native carp the Chinese have produced two highly colored breeds, the goldfish and the telescope-eyed carp.
Among the invertebrates special mention may be made of the great ailanthus silk-moth (Aitacus cynthia) of northern China and Japan. and also of its Manchurian relative A. pernyi; while it may be added that the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori) is generally believed to be of Chinese origin, although this is not certain. Very characteristic of China is the abundance of handsomely colored swallow-tailed butterflies of the family Papilionidae. The Chinese kermes (Coccus sinensis) is also worth mention, on account of it yelding wax. As regards land and freshwater snails, China exhibits a marked similarity to Siam and India; the two groups in which the Chinese province displays decided peculiarities of its own being Helix (in the wider sense) and Clausilia. There are, for instance, nearly half a score of subgenera of Helix whose headquarters are Chinese, while among these, forms with sinistral shells are relatively common. The genus Clausilia is remarkable on account of attaining a second centre of development in China, where its finest species, referable to several subgenera, occur. Carnivorous molluscs include a peculiar slug (Rathouisia) and the shelled genera Ennea and Sire ptaxis. In the western provinces species of Buliminus are abundant, and in the operculate group Heudeia forms a peculiar type akin to Helicina, but with internal foldings to the shell.
Lastly, it has to be mentioned that the waters of the Yangtszekiang are inhabited by a small jelly-fish, or medusa (Limnocodium kawaii), near akin to L. sowerbi-i, which was discovered in the hothouse tanks in the Botanical Gardens in the Regents Park, London, but whose real home is probably the Amazon. (R. L.*)
Flora.
The vegetation of China is extremely rich, no fewer than 9000 species of flowering plants having been already enumerated, of which nearly a half are endemic or not known to occur elsewhere. Whole provinces are as yet only partially explored; and the total flora is estimated to comprise ultimately 12,000 species. China is the continuation eastward of the great Himalayan mass, numerous chains of mountains running irregularly to the sea-board. Thousands of deep narrow valleys form isolated areas, where peculiar species have been evolved. Though the greater part of the country has long ago been cleared of its primeval forest and submitted to agriculture, there still remain some extensive forests and countless small woods in which the original flora is well preserved. Towards the north the vegetation is palaearctic, and differs little in its composition from that of Germany, Russia and Siberia. The flora of the western and central provinces is closely allied to that of the Himalayas and of Japan; while towards the south this element mingles with species derived from Indo-China, Burma and the plain of Hindostan. Above a certain elevation, decreasing with the latitude, but approximately 6000 ft. in the Yangtsze basin, there exist in districts remote from the traffic of the great rivers, extensive forests of conifers, like those of Central Europe in character, but with different species of silver fir, larch, spruce and Cembran pine. Below this altitude the woods are composed of deciduous and evergreen broad-leafed trees and shrubs, mingled together in a profusion of species. Pure broad-leafed forests of one or two species are rare, though small woods of oak, of alder and of birch are occasionally seen. There is nothing comparable to the extensive beech forests of Europe, the two species of Chinese beech being sporadic and rare trees. The heaths, Calluna and Erica, which cover great tracts of barren sandy land in Europe, are absent from China, where the Ericaceous vegetation is made up of numerous species of Rhododendron, which often cover vast areas on the mountain slopes. Pine forests occur at low levels, but are always small in extent.
The appearance of the vegetation is very different from that of the United States, which is comparable to China in situation and in extent. Though there are 60 species of oak in China, many with magnificent foliage and remarkable cupules, the red oaks, so characteristic of North America, with their bristle-pointed leaves, turning beautiful colors in autumn, are quite unknown. The great coniferous forest west of the Rocky Mountains has no analogue in China, the gigantic and preponderant Douglas fir being absent, while the giant Seguoias are represented only on a small scale by Cryptomeria, which attains half their height.
Certain remnants of the Miocene flora which have disappeared from Europe are still conspicuous and similar in North America and China. In both regions there are several species of Magnolia; one species each of Liriodendron, Liquidambar and Sassafras; and curious genera like Nyssa, Hamamelis, Decumaria and Gymnocladus. The swamps of the south-eastern states, in which still survive the once widely spread Taxodium or deciduous cypress, are imitated on a small scale by the marshy banks of rivers near Canton, which are clad with Glyptostrobus, the water-pine of the Chinese. Pseudolarix, Cunn~nghamia and Keteleeria are coniferous genera peculiar to China, which have become extinct elsewhere. The most remarkable tree in China, the only surviving link between ferns and conifers, Ginkgo bioba, has only been seen in temple gardens, but may occur wild in some of the unexplored provinces. Its leaves have been found in the tertiary beds of the Isle of Mull.
Most of the European genera occur in China, though there are curious exceptions like the plane tree, and the whole family of the Cistaceae, which characterize the peculiar maquis of the Mediterranean region. The rhododendrons, of which only four species are European, have their headquarters in China., numbering 130 species, varying in size from miniature shrubs 6 in. high to tall trees. Lysiinachia, Primula, Clematis, Rubus and Gentiana have each a htindred species, extraordinary variable in habit, in size and in color of the flowers. The ferns are equally polymorphic, numbering 400 species, and including strange genera like Archangiopteris and Clseiropieris, unknown elsewhere. About 40 species of bamboos have been distinguished; the one with a square stem from Fu-kien is the most curious.
With a great wealth of beautiful flowering shrubs and herbaceous plants, the Chinese at an early period became skilled horticulturists. The emperor Wu Ti established in III B.C. a botanic garden at Chang-an, into which rare plants were introduced from the west and south. Many garden varieties originated in China. The chrysanthemum, perhaps the most variable of cultivated flowers, s derived from two wild species (small and inconspicuous plants), and is mentioned in the ancient Chinese classics. We owe to the skill of the Chinese many kinds of roses, lilies, camellias and peonies; and have introduced from China some of the most ornamental plants in cur gardens, as Wistaria, Diervilla, Kerria, Incarvillea, Deutzia, Primula sinensis, Hemerocallis, &c. The peach and several oranges are natives of China. The varnish tree (Rhus vernicifera), from which lacquer is obtained; the tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum); the white mulberry, on which silkworms are fed; and the tea plant were all first utilized by the Chinese. The Chinese have also numerous medicinal plants, of which ginseng and rhubarb are best known. Nearly all our vegetables and cereals have their counterpart in China, where there are numerous varieties not yet introduced into Europe, though some, like the Soy bean, are now attracting great attention.
(A. HE.*)
AuTH0RITIE5.L. Richard (S.J.), Gographie de lempire de Chine (Shanghai, 1905)the first systematic account of China as a whole in modern times. The work, enlarged, revised and translated into English by M. Kennelly (S.J.), was reissued in 1908 as Richards Comprehensive Geography of the Chinese Empire and Dependencies. This is the standard authority for the country and gives for each section bibliographical notes. It has been used in the revision of the present article. Valuable information on northern, central and western China is furnished by Col. C. C. Manifold and Col. A. W. S. Wingate in the Geog. Journ. vol. xxiii. (1904) and vol. xxix. (1907). Consult also Marshall Broomhall (ed.), The Chinese Empire: a General and Missionary Survey (London, 1907); B. Willis, E. Blackwelder and others, Research in China, vol. i. part i. Descriptive Topography and Geology, part ii. Petrography and Zoology, and Atlas (Washington, Carnegie institution, I906I~o7); Forbes and Hemsley, Enumeration of Chinese Plants, in Journ. Linnean Soc. (Bot.), vols. xxiii. and xxxvi.; Bretschneider, History of European Botanical Discoveries in China; E. Tiessen, China dos Reich der achtzehn Provinzen, Teil i. Die aligemeine Geographic des Landes (Berlin, 1902); and The China Sea Directory (published by the British Admiralty), a valuable guide to the coasts: vol. ii. (5th ed., 1906) deals with Hong-Kong and places south thereof, vol. iii. (4th ed., 1906, supp. 1907) with the rest of the Chinese coast; vol. i. (5th ed., 1906) treats of the islands and straits in the S.W. approach to the China Sea. Much of China has not been surveyed, but considerable progress has been made since 1900. The Atlas of the Chinese Empire (London, 1908), a good general atlas, which, however, has no hill shading, gives maps of each province on the scale of I: 3,000,000. The preface contains a list of the best regional maps.
The Journal of the China Branch of the Royal A smile Society contains papers on all subjects relating to China.
II. THE PEOPLE
China is noted for the density of its population, but no accurate statistics are forthcoming. The province of Sha1?-tung is reputed to have a population of 680 per ~q. m. The provinces of central China, in the basin of the Yangtsze-kiangnamely Sze-chuen, ,,~ Hu-peh, Ngan-hui, Kiang-su and Cheh-kiang----contain a- probably a third of the total population, the density of the people in these provinces being represented as from 490 to 310 per sq. m. Ho-nan, which belongs partly to the basin of the Hwang-ho and partly to that of the Yangtszekiang, as well as the SE. coast provinces of Fu-kien and Kwangtung, are also densely peopled, Ho-nan being credited with 520 persons per sq. m., Fu-kien with 490 and Kwang-tung with about 320.
The Chinese government prints from time to time in the Peking Gazette returns of the population made by the various provincial authorities. The method of numeration is to count the households, and from that to make a return of the total inhabitants of each province. There would be no great difficulty in obtaining fairly accurate returns if sufficient care were taken. It does not appear, however, that much care is taken. Mr E. H. Parker published in the Statistical Societys Journal for March 1899 tables translated from Chinese records, giving the population from year to year between 1651 and 1860. These tables show a gradual rise, though with many fluctuations, up till 1851, when the total population is stated to be 432 millions. From that point it decreases till 1860, when it is put down at only 261 millions. The Chinese Imperial Customs put the total population of the empire in 1906 at 438,214,000 and that of China proper at 407,253,000. It has been held by several inquirers that these figures are gross over-estimates. Mr Rockhill, American minister at Peking (1905-1909), after careful inquiry i concluded that the inhabitants of China proper did not exceed, in 1904, 270,000,000 Other competent authorities are inclined to accept the round figure of 400,000,000 as nearer the accurate number. Eleven cities were credited in 5908 with between 500,000 and 1,000,000 inhabitants each, and smaller cities are very numerous, but the population is predominantly rural, In addition to the Chinese the population includes a number of aboriginal races such as the Lobs (q.n.), the Miaotsze, the Ikias of Kwei-chow and Kwang-si, the Hakka, found in the south-east provinces, and the Hokios of Kwang-tung province.2 The Manchus resident in China are estimated to number 4,000,000. According to the Imperial Customs authorities, the number of foreigners resident in China in 5908 was 69,852. Of these 44,143 were Japanese, 9520 Russian, 9043 British, 3637 German, 3545 American, 3353 Portuguese, 2029 French, 554 Italian and 282 Belgian.
The Chinese are a colonizing race, and in Manchuria, Mongolia and Turkestan they have brought several districts under cultivation. In ~ - the regions where they settle they become the dominant 2ta racethus southern Manchuria now differs little from a IOn, province of China proper. In Indo-China, the Malay Peninsula and throughout the Far East Chinese are numerous as farmers, laborers and traders; in some places, such as Singapore, Chinese are among the principal merchants. This colonizing spirit is probably due more to the enterprise of the people than to the density of the population. There were Chinese settlements at places on the east coast of Africa before the 10th century A.D. Following the discovery of gold in California there was from 5850 onwards a large emigration of Chinese to that state and to other parts of America. But in 1879 Chinese exclusion acts were passed by the United States, an example followed by Australia, where Chinese immigration was also held to be a public danger. Canada also adopted the policy of excluding Chinese, but not before there had been a considerable immigration into British Columbia. Two factors, a racial and an economic, are at work to bring about these measures of exclusion. As indentured laborers Chinese have been employed in the West Indies, South America and other places (see C00LIE).
In addition to several million Chinese settlers in Manchuria, and smaller numbers in Mongolia, Turkestan and Tibet, it was estimated in 1908 that there were over 9,000,000 Chinese resident beyond the empire. Of these 2,250,000 were in Formosa, which for long formed a part of the empire, and over 6,ooo,000 in neighboring regions of Asia and in Pacific Islands. In the West Indies (chiefly Cuba) the number of Chinese was estimated at 100,000, in South America (Brazil, Peru and Chile) at 72,000, in the United States at 150,000, in Canada at 52,000, and in Australia and New Zealand at 35,000. There are comparatively few Chinese in Japan (if Formosa be excepted) and Korea. The number is given in 1908 as 17,ooo in Japan and Ii ,ooo in Korea.
Social Life.
The awakening of the East which has followed the RussoJapanese War of 19045 has affected China also. It is too soon to say how far the influx of European ideas will be able to modify 2 For a bibliography of works relating to the aboriginal races of China see Richards Corn prehensive Geography of the Chinese Empire (1908 eel.), pp. 371-373. -
the immemorial customs and traditions of perhaps the most conservative people in the wo
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Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'China, Asia'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/c/china-asia.html. 1910.
