The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-01-28
ART TREASURES OF CHINA.
SOME or THE CURlOS FOUND IN THE
M0NGOLlAN EMPIRE.

can ~Consul-some Odd Chinese Weap-
ons-wonderfuI s~,vords-suits OF Ar
mor-The Manufacture OF Bogus Idols.
In a report to the State department
United States Consul Edward Bedloe of
Annoy, China, tells some interesting facts
in regard to the wealth OF the Mongo-
lian Empire in all sorts Of curios and
oddities.
" There is hardly an artistic taste but
can be gratifed in the 'Flowery King
DOM" says Consul Bedloe. "a full de-
scription OF the art treasures to be seen
in its great cities would fill many vol
umes." Mr.. Bedloe then gives most in
teresting resume, including the import
ant lines. or arms and armor there are
more than 1000 types. The best work.
manship in this line, he explains, comes
from Japan, and some admirable pieces
are OF Korean origin.
In offensive weapons there Is remark
able variety. Soldiers along the coast are
armed with the latest rifles, while in the
interior they employ the same arms as
were used by the vast hosts of Tamerlane
and Zenghis Khan. Every kind of weap-
on that has been employed within the
VI tbt hihtH SAiPAtt oiaS0 az
days of Confucius may be found to-day
in use. In some places the mandarins
and high officials arm their r~etinues with
conventional weapons representing diff
ferent periods in the history of the ma
ton. son account of the changes
wrought by time" writes the consul,
"many of these martial instruments are
so incongruous as to be almost funny.
Thna TO- a~av.RIa Tho Nfannoltan Tar-
tars did their fighting on horseback,
and one of their most formidable arms
was a pole to which was attached a hook
edged on the inside like a reaper's sickle.
With this they would pull a rider from
his steed, wounding or killing him in the
action, or would hamstring the horse at
q single stroke.
The trident OF the fishermen, the three
tined hayfork and the bucolic scythe or
sickle all had their place in the equip
ments of war. Spears and halberds take
the place of lances, and the designs of
these weapons are varied and grotesque.
some OF them have shapes calculated to
brighten an enemy worse than it could
possibly hurt him. The points of some
of the spears are grooved so as to hold
poison, and a wound from one of them is
invariably fatal. "These srears are used
with great skill by the Chinese" says
Consul Bedloe. "Lee-Yu, a famous ban
dit, cocld throw one through a man at
fifty yaA ~"
In archery the Chinese, especially those
of Ma~ntchooria and Se-Chuen, have long
been experts. The bows vary greatly in
materials, construction, decoration and
finish. They are made of one or several
pieces of wood, and are frequently inlaid
or engraved until they are true works Of
art.
The Chinese are masters OF the art Of
sword making. These weapons are some
times most grotesque in shape, but the
quality of steel and the finish of work
manship are superb. The most curious,
perhaps, is the so-called warriors two
bladed sword, from Ho- Nan. IL Is about
two feet long and is carried in a plain
scabbard of sharks skin, trimmed with
brass mountings. When drawn the blade
divides into two, each a fac simile of the
other, double-edged and spear-pointed.
Suits of armor are among the most
curious "art treasures" in China. The
original armor of Mantchooria was
leather, and subsequently suits made Of
alternate layers of leather and WOOL were
used. In the south of China armor made
of alternate layers of cotton cloth and
paper was the favorite. The suit of a
famous Yun-Nan bandit consisted OF
sixty thicknesses OF cotton cloth and
paper, and rendered him practically in
vulnerable.
In Annoy and Canton are manufactured
most of the hideous idols called "josses, "
which seemed to be SO highly priced by
curio collectors. d" am sorry to be obliged
TO state" says Consul Bedloe; "that
much OF the Joss business is a fraud,
pious and otherwise. The regulation joss
is either a very fat and placid gentleman,
with a large genius for %lolling, or a digni-
fled, virtuous female with a s~uperiuous
number of arms and hands. But
these styles did not suit merchants who
desired to astonish their folks at home
So, to please their customers, the Mon
golian iossmaker, with a keen eye for the
main chance, turns out an assorted lot o,
clay hobgoblins warranted to freeze the
blood OF a small boy or produce Mysteries
in n nervous and dyspeptic girl. In this
category comes the man with the tiger
face and ferocious fangs. the so-called
god of hunger, who is only an everyday,
half-starved opium-smoker, and the
snake god, who is probably aphase of de-
lirium tremens. None of these belongs
to Chinese art. They are simply fakes
made for the markets OF Christendom."
These josses are generally carved out
OF wood, nodded OF clay or cast out OF
cheap metal. Josses carved from stone
are rare and dear. Real josses made for
the %mandarins bring tigh prices. Liu,
the former governor OF Formosa. owns a
joss about eight inches high which is said
to lie fifteen centuries old. II Is valued
at $4,000. Small josses of carved stone,
or two inches high, cost usually about
500.