CHINA. 



.1 , t.ry 



They art afraid of cutting iaitromenti, that even 

 blood-iettg with tbe lancet i never practised ; and still 

 lt it imputation in any caw atlrmptrd Even the most 

 lini|ilf oprrabo* n aetdont undertaken, not only owing 

 to the ignorance of practitioner*, ao<l the timidity of the 



e ignorance 



patient, but in consequence, also, of the dread of an ex- 

 iltaag Uw. h it it enacted, that if a wounded per- 



*oo be taken under any oiy' care with a view to effect 

 l.i* recovery, and if he ihuld happen to die under hii 

 band*, then, unlets tbe phyucian or friend can produce 

 ualliaialiU evidence how the wound wai inflicted, and 

 that the iuffcro survived it 40 days, the person in whose 

 hand* he wa* found at hit death, is made responsible for 

 hi life. So low, in short, is the state of the healing art 

 in China, that the emperor of that extensive, populous, 

 and wealthy country, according to the opinion of an < ini- 

 oent physician ( Dr Gregory), could not command in his 

 whole dominion*, such medical aid at a smart boy of 16, 

 who had been apprentice for one year to a well-employ- 

 ed Edinburgh surgeon, would be able to afford. 



The Chinese architecture, bean no resemblance to that 

 of Europe ; and ii not easily described by the usual 

 terms of art. Their houses in general have nothing re- 

 markable in their external appearance, and even their 

 public edifice* are distinguished rather by their extent, 

 than their magnificence. Their whole style of building 

 it represented by intelligent observers as extremely slight 

 and ill-proportioned, inelegant in the design, and clumsy 

 i a the execution. All their dwellings are supposed to 

 have been originally constructed after the model of a tent, 

 . ith a carved roof, and wooden pillars round the brick 

 wall, in imitation of the poles which support the sides of 

 tbe tent. The external form and aspect of all the hou- 

 ses are extremely similar ; and the habitation of a gran- 

 dee in the capital is distinguished from that of a trades- 

 man, chiefly by being surrounded with a high wall, and 

 by occupying a greater space of ground. The dwellings 

 of the peasantry, indeed, arc in general extremely wretch- 

 ed, and little better than huts, consisting of low brick or 

 earthen walls, covered by a slender roof of 'straw or of 

 reedi. The habitations of the ordinary inhabitants in 

 .-.ties are confined within narrow limits ; and a small 

 court with two or three low-roofed apartments, forms 

 the lodging of a whole family. Tbe walls are generally 

 of wood, occasionally of brick, but rarely of stone ; and 

 re neither solidly constructed, nor properly founded. 

 Tbe roof is commonly composed of tiles, formed in the 

 shape of a canal, and those which are placed at the lower 

 rxtremitv, are, for the most part, curiously wrought and 

 differently shaped. The lower stories are raised a little 

 above the surface of the ground to avoid the moisture, 

 and are paved with bricks or square tiles. The second 

 flat* are chiefly employed as store-rooms, and the stairs, 

 in constructing which the Chinese architects are extreme- 

 ly unskilful, are little better than upright ladders. 



The houses of the more wealthy are distinguished by 

 their large courts, galleries of communication, and variety 

 of gates. The ground plot of 300 or 400 feet is laid out 

 into ten or twelve court* paved with tiles. In *omc of 

 these court* are three or four tent-shaped houies, stand- 

 ing upon >tone terraces, which are about three feet above 

 the level of the pavement ; and from each of these apart- 

 nei.U and courts are galleries of communication, consist- 

 ing of colonnade* of red wooden pillar* resting on stone, 

 leading to tbe adjoining parts of the habitation, so that 



every part of it may be visited without being exposed to 

 the sun or air. The floors of the apartments are paved 

 with bricks or clay ; the ceiling is formed of bamboo 

 laths covered with plaister, or is left altogether open with. 

 out any thing to conceal the rafters. The windows are 

 without glass, but are furnished with oiled paper, hon;', 

 silk gauze, or pearl shell, as a substitute. The 

 are gem-rally whitened with lime made from shells, or 

 covered with white paper ; and some of the rooms have 

 holes in the corners, by way of fire places, from which 

 the heat is conveyed through flues in the walls, or under 

 the floor. The apartments of the ladies have frequently 

 two stories, the uppermost of which have often no lijjht, 

 and are seldom so good as the common garrets in England. 

 The furniture consists of a table, a few clumsy chairs of 

 varnished wood, which on days of ceremony are covered 

 with red cloth, some porcelain dishes filled with lemon 

 trees or other shrubs, copper vessels for burning perfumes, 

 and lanterns of various forms, made of paper, silk, ivory, 

 or horn, and sometimes ornamented in a very expensive 

 manner. Looking classes arc very rarely found in Chi- 

 nese apartments, and little attention appears to be paid 

 to internal decorations. Among the higher ranks, the 

 beds arc large and splendid, the posts gilded and adorned 

 with sculpture, the curtains of fine gauze in summer, and 

 silk in wii.ti-r ; but, in most cases, especially in the north- 

 ern province?, the beds arc merely benches in the wall, 

 constructed of brick, and heated by a stove on one side, 

 the fire of which is frequently lighted from without. 

 These beds, which are larger or smaller, according to the 

 number of the family, are frequently covered with mat- 

 trasses during the night, which are replaced by a mat or 

 carpet through the day, and the bed then becomes a kind 

 of couch, upon which the family sit at work.* In the 

 courts, are generally placed pots of flowers and shrubs, 

 or jars filled with water, containing a variety of small 

 fishes ; and these courts are sometimes roughened with 

 rocks and excavations in imitation of nature, and upon 

 their ledges or projecting points, pots of shrubs and stunt- 

 ed trees are carefully distributed. A water closet, or 

 suitable place of retirement, is not to be found in any 

 Chinese dwelling or city ; but large earthen jars, with 

 narrow tops, are used for thepurpose, and sometimes mere- 

 ly a stick, placed across a hole in a corner, is made to 

 answer the end. The principal attention is paid to the 

 position and construction of the gates, which in a great 

 house are generally three in number, of which the middle 

 one is the most magnificent, and is only opened for the 

 admission of strangers of rank, or for the use of the mas- 

 ter of the house on occasions of ceremony. 



The lodgings, assigned to some of the gentlemen in 

 the train of the British embassy, consisted of three or four 

 rooms in a small court, surrounded with a wall, as high 

 as the roofs of the buildings. E;ich apartment was about 

 twelve feet square, the walls completely naked, the ceil- 

 ing broken in, the lattices of the windows covered in 

 some places with paper, and the doors made of old bam- 

 boo screens. In one of them, was an old table with only 

 two or three chairs j and, in the rest, nothing but a little 

 raised platform of brick-work, upon which were laid mat- 

 trapses to form a bed. Yet these rooms were within 200 

 yards of the great hall of audience in the imperial palace 

 at Pekin ; and had been the apartments of a great man, 

 or officer ol state. The greater part of the other build- 

 ings, within the precincts of the palace, were equally mi- 

 serable hovels ; and even the dwelling of the emperor 





Apart- 



min's ( V 

 the palace. 



The bedding contift* generally of nutting made of reeds or bamboo ; a cylindrical wooden pillow, covered with leather ; kind 

 t rug or felt blanket, ro..ik , i ihc hair; wool of the broad-tailed bliccj), not upon and woven, but beaten together as in tbe making of 

 iu ; and ttmetimtn a cuttrMf stuffed with wool, hair, or straw. 



e 



