Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1857-04-11
THE STATE OF CHINA,


/ published in the Journal of the Statistical
Society. We make the following extracts
from this important and interesting docu-
mcnt, which was written in July, 1867
THE FISHING POPULATION.
The multitudes of persons who live by the
| fisheries in China afford evidence not only
that the land is cultivated to the greatest
possible extent, but that it is insufficient to
supply the necessities of the overlooking pop
ulation; for agriculture is held in high honor
in China, and the husbandman stands next
in rank to the sage or literary man in the
social hierarchy It has been supposed that
nearly q tenth OF the population derive their
means of support from the fisheries Hun
dreds and thousands of boats crowd the whole
coast of China sometimes acting in com
munities, sometimes independent and ;soat-
ed. There is no species of craft by which
fish can be invcighed which is not practised
with success in Ghina-overy variety of net,
from the vast seines, embracing miles, to the
small hand filet in the care of little child
Fishing by night and fishing by day,-fsh-
ing in moonlight, by torchlight, and in ut
ter darkness, fishing in boats of all sizes,
fishing by those who are stationary on the
rock by the seaside, and by those who are
absent for weeks on the widest eas,-fisll-
ing by cormorants, fishing by DIVERS
fishing with lines, with baskets, by every
imaginable dccoy and device There is no
river which is not staked to assist the fisher
maa in his craft. There is no lake no pond
which Is not crowded with fish, \ piece of
water is nearly as valuable as field of fer
tile land. At daybreak every city is crowd
ed with sellers of live fish, who carry their
commodity in buckets of water, saving all
| they do not sell to be returned to the pond
or kept for another days service. ARD the
lakes and ponds of China not only supply
large provisions of fsh-they produce con
siderable quantities of edible roots and seeds,
which are consumed by the people. Among
these the csculeat arum, the water chestnut
(scirpas tHberosi's, and the lotus (nelaatJi-
nm, } are the most remarkable.
TnE WATER POPULATION.
The enormous river population Of China.
who live in boats, who were born and cdu-
Gated, who marry, rear their families, md
lic-Who, in word, begin aud end theil
existence on the water, and never have 81
dream Of any shelter other than the roof,
and who seldom tread except on The dec. OF
board of their sampans-show 10 $ hat an
extent the land Is crowded. and how made
quatc it is to maintan the eunberers If t.
soil. In the city of Canton alone it is esti-
mated that 500 .060 persons dwell upon the
surface of the river. the boats sometimes
twenty or thirty feet deep cover miles and
have their wants supplied by gnbulatorg
statesmen, who wend their way through eye
ry accessible passage. OF this vast popu-
lation, some dwell in decorated river boats
used for every purpose Of licence and fcstiy-
ity-for thcatres-fo concerts--for foasts-
for granddaughter lust--for solitary and so
cial recreations; some craft are employed in
conveying goods and passengers, aud are in
a state Of constant activity; others arc moor
| ed, and their owners engaged as servants or
laborers on shore. Indeed, their pursuits
are nearly as various as those Of the land
population. The immense variety of boats
which are found in Chinese waters has nov
er been adequately described Some are OF
enormous size, and are used rs magazines
for salt or rice-others have all domestic ae-
Communications, and are employed for the
transfer Of whole families, with I'll their do
nestle attendants and accommodations, freni
one place to another--somc, being called
centipcdes from their being supposed to have
100 rowers, convey with extraordinary ra-
pidity, the more valuable cargoes from the
intor-warehouscs to the foreign shipping in
the ports-all these, from the huge and cum
brous iunks, which remind one of Noah
ark, and which represent the rude and coarse
constructions of the remotcst ages, to the
fragile planks upon which a solitary lcper
hangs upon the outskirts of socicty-boats
Of every form and applied to every purpose
exhibit an inealeulablo amount Of popula-
ton, which may be called amphibious, ii mol
aquatic. Net only are land and water crowd
ed with Chinese, but many dwell on artificial
islands which float upon the lakcs--islands
with gardens and houses raised upon the raft
ers which the oecupiers have bound togeth-
er, and on which they cultivate what is need
full for the supply of life's daily wants They
have their poultry aud their vegetables fol
USE their flowers and their serools for orna-
ment, their household gods for protection
and worship,
THE CHINESE AS AGRIcUITURIsTs.
In all parts of China to which VIC have
access we find not only that every foot of
ground is cultivated which is capable Of pro-
ducng anything, but that from the value Of
land and the surplus of labor, cultivation is
rather that of gardeners than Of husband
men. The sides of the hills in their natu-
raj decliyity often unavailable, are by sue
cession of artificial terraces, turned to prof
table account. Every little bit of soil, tho
it be only few feet in length and breadth,
is turned to account; and not only is the
surface of the land thus cared for, but every
device is employed for the gathering togeth-
er Of every article that can serve formanure.
Scavengers are constantly clearing the streets
of the stercoraceous filth the cloaee are
framed by spectators in human ordures ;
the most populous place is often made often
sivc BY the means taken to prevent the pre-
cious deposits from being lost, The fields
in China have almost always large earthen.
ware vessels for the reception of the contri-
buttons of the peasant or the traveller. You
cannot enter into any of their great cities
without meeting multitudes Of men, women