118 



CHINA. 



miles ; and of the area of the dependencies of 

 China, from 3,012,000 to 3,118,000 English 

 square miles. The population of China Proper 

 was, in 1812, estimated at 361,993,179; in' 

 1842, at 414,686,994; and in 1866, at 450,000,- 

 000. The population of the dependencies of 

 China is estimated as follows : Mantchooria, 

 3,000,000; Mongolia, 3,000,000; Thian-Shan- 

 nanlu and Thian-Shan-pelu, together, 1,000,000 ; 

 Thibet, 11,000,000; Corea, 9,000,000 ; theLieu- 

 Khieu Islands, 500,000. At the head of the 

 department of Foreign Affairs is Prince Kong. 

 The Chinese army, according to a recent state- 

 ment (Moger, " Recollections of Baron Gross's 

 Embassy to China and Japan," London, 1860), 

 consists of about 600,000 men, scattered through- 

 out the empire. Besides, there are about 200,- 

 000 Tartars at the immediate, disposition of the 

 government. The soldiers, when not on duty, 

 practise some trade at their residences, so that 

 it may be said that China has no standing 

 army. The revenue, according to an official 

 report made in 1864, amounted to 63,934,713. 

 Throughout the year 1867, the Chinese Gov- 

 ernment had to sustain a hard struggle against 

 the Nien-fei ( " Northern " ) rebels. The impe- 

 rial troops several times suffered severe defeats, 

 and in August even the capital of the empire, 

 Pekin, was threatened. Several others of the 

 large cities, as the treaty-ports Chefoo and 

 Hankow, were in danger of falling into the 

 hands of the rebels, though no one was actually 

 captured. The chief of the rebels declared him- 

 self emperor. In December, 1867, the im- 

 perial troops under Footai were severely beaten 

 by the rebels in Southern Shan-king. One of 

 the English papers, published in China, gives 

 the foil owing information of these rebels, which 

 was derived from a native Christian who had 

 been a prisoner in the ranks of the rebels for 

 fourteen days : 



The rebel army is in an exceedingly well-organized 

 state. The whole army is divided into fifty large 

 banners, each %f the large banners numbers fifty 

 men, but under the command of each large banner 

 are fifty small standards with fifty men each, so that 

 the whole army would amount to 125,000 men. The 

 banner with which the informant had to march was 

 in the centre of the whole army. On the banner 

 was written in very large characters "lauchin- 

 wong." This party was commanded by three offi- 

 cers, one commanding officer, one officer of the com- 

 missariat, and one officer in charge of the captives. 

 Thirty men of his party were people from Kong- si, 

 some from Hunan, and some were captives from 

 Shensi and Shan-tung. No information about in- 

 tended movements or the whole plan of operations 

 is ever conveyed to any of the common soldiers ; 

 each has to look to his banner, when that is put 

 down he has to stop, when it is turned he has to 

 retire, when it is lifted up he has to march. Even 

 the commanding officers of the smaller banners have 

 no other means for learning where they have to 

 march to, but by watching the movements of the 

 large banners, which are directed by one immense 

 standai'd. The party with which our informant was, 

 had not any engagement with any enemy ; the 

 fighting was all done by some of the smaller banners 

 which marched ahead. He says his provisions were 

 uniformly good and regularly supplied to each fight- 

 ing man as well as to each of the captives. He was 



always treated well, and never saw any captive who 

 had to complain of ill-usage. Many of the soldiers 

 were mounted on mules, and even some children 

 that were among the captives were carried along on 

 the backs of donkeys or mules. He only saw a few 

 Chinese-made cannons, but as he never came near 

 any of the fighting detachments he cannot judge if 

 they have many cannons or not. But he says he 

 saw one day four foreigners, dressed half Chinese 

 half foreign fashion, riding past his company on 

 splendid mules, but he could not see if they were 

 armed or not. No question as to the number of 

 foreigners in the ranks was ever answered by any 

 soldier whom he asked, but a fellow-captive who was 

 for a very long time among the rebels said there 

 were more than a hundred foreigners in the camp. 

 The rebels do not seem to observe any form of 

 worship, at least our informant saw nothing of that 

 kind. 



Another correspondent to an Anglo-Chinese 

 paper says.: ."I do not think that you over- 

 rate the magnitude of the so-called Nien-fei 

 rebellion, which I am now satisfied has become 

 a similar affair to theChangmovv long-haired or 

 Taiping insurrection. One of the descendants 

 of the Wangs, who has Mohammedan and Nien- 

 fei adherents, has absorbed, if I am rightly in- 

 formed, all the elements opposed to the exist- 

 ing order of things." The following extract 

 from the official organ of the Chinese Govern- 

 ment, the PeTcin Gazette, is important, as show- 

 ing the alarm felt by the Chinese Government 

 at the inroads made by the Nien-fei in the 

 province of Shan-tung. 



An Imperial Edict. Last year, when the Nien-fei 

 rebels forced their way from Ho-nan into Hu-peh, 

 we repeatedly ordered Li Hung-chang and Tseng 

 Kuo-chaun, with the Hsiang and Hwai regiments ana 

 the whole available force of the province of Hu-peh, 

 to attack them with vigor, and we were in expectation 

 of hearing that they had been annihilated on the spot 

 and their rebellious spirit quelled forever. These 

 banditti, however, penetrating as far as Hwang-ma 

 and Sui-tsao in Ho-nan, and the districts of Nan- 

 yang and Hsiu-lo in Hu-peh, ran riot in every direc- 

 tion ; and though we have received frequent reports 

 of victories gained over them, yet they have day 

 after day failed to produce any beneficial results. 



In the 5th moon of the present year (June, 1867) 

 the provincial authorities of Shan-tung and Ho-nan 

 reported these rebels, entering Ho-nan in a vast 

 horde, passed by the towns of Ye-hsien, Hsiang- 

 ch'eng, Hsu-chow and Lau-k'ao, invaded Shan-tung, 

 and bore straightly through the Show-chang district 

 by way of Chun-chu to the Grand Canal. 



They have now a second time forced their way 

 into the country about Tai-ning and Ning-yang, and 

 are gradually nearing the capital of the province 

 (Chi-nan-foo). But what effectual resistance have 

 they encountered? The high civil officials in the 

 different provinces, and those in command of the 

 troops, are always talking of the preparations they 

 are making to withstand and crush the robbers, but 

 what is the disgusting reality ? When the rebels ap- 

 proach, these officers form no properly-defined plan 

 of resistance ; and when they retire, they consider 

 they have achieved their object, if they can only get 

 them out of their own jurisdictions, and in the mean 

 time the treasury is drained and the people oppressed 

 without end. When will the bands of these Nien- 

 fei, now in the very heart of the kingdom, be sub- 

 dued? 



We have already handed over to the Board Ting 

 Peo-chen, that he may receive the severest punish- 

 ment that the law allows, for his recent loss of ttie 

 river-wall, and have ordered the execution, in me 



