created by imperial decree. These boards are-1. The board of civil appointments, which takes cognizance of the conduct and administration of all civil officers; 2. The board of revenues, regulating all financial affairs; 3. The board of rites and ceremonies, which enforces the laws and customs to be observed by the people ; 4. The military board, superintending the administration of the army; 5. The board of public works; 6. The high tribunal of criminal jurisdiction; and 7. The admiralty board. Independent of the Government, and theoretically above the central administration, is the Tu-ch'a-yuen, or board of public censors. It consists of from 40 to 50 members, under two presidents, the one of Tartar and the other of Chinese birth. By the ancient custom of the empire, all the members of this board are privileged to present any remonstrance to the sovereign. One censor must be present at the meetings of each of the Government boards. The amount of the public revenue of China is only known by estimates. According to one estimate the total receipts of the Government in recent years averaged 25,000,000l., derived from taxes on land, grain, salt, and customs duties. The land tax in the north does not exceed 3s. per acre yearly, and the highest rate in the south is 13s. The following is an estimate of the ordinary revenue of the Chinese Government : Land tax, portion payable in silver Rice tribute Salt taxes and levies Maritime customs under foreign supervision Haikwan taels 20,000,000 2,800,000 9,600,000 15,000,000 Native customs, maritime and inland, and first inland levy on foreign opium 6,000,000 Transit levy on miscellaneous goods and opium, foreign and native 11,000,000 Licenses 2,000,000 66,400,000 £16,600,000 Other two sources resorted to in times of necessity are sale of office and forced contributions among the wealthy; the former, however, was abolished by imperial decree in 1878. The sale of relative rank is, however, still in vogue. The receipts from the foreign customs alone are made public. They amounted to 7,872,257 haikwan taels, or 2,361,6777. (ex. 6s.), in 1864, and gradually increasing, had risen to 14,085,672 haikwan taels, or 4,020,2861. (ex. 58. 8d.), in 1882, to 13,286,757 haikwan taels, or 3,723,0541. (ex. 5s. 74d.), in 1883, to 13,510,712 haikwan taels, or 3,771,7401. (ex. 58. 7d.), in 1884, to 14,472,766 haikwan taels, or 3,829,2531. (ex. 58. 34d.), in 1885, and to 15,144,678 haikwan taels, or 3,794,0571. (ex. 5s. 04d.) in 1886. The customs duties fall more upon exports than imports. The expenditure of the Government is mainly for the army, the maintenance of which is estimated to cost 15,000,000l. per annum on the average. China had no foreign debt till the end of 1874. In December 1874 the Government contracted a loan of 627,6751., bearing 8 per cent. interest, secured by the customs revenue. A second 8 per cent. foreign loan, likewise secured on the customs, to the amount of 1,604,2767., was issued in July 1878. Two silver loans have since been contracted, a loan of 1,505,000l. in 1884, and loans amounting to about 2,250,000l. in 1886. In February 1887 a loan of 250,000l. was arranged in Germany. Various small silver loans, generally for local viceroys, have also been floated in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The total external debt is estimated at about 5,000,000l. Religion and Education. Three religions are acknowledged by the Chinese as indigenous or adopted, viz. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism; but of these Confucianism alone has any claim to the title of a State religion. With the exception of the practice of ancestral worship, which is everywhere observed throughout the empire, and fully recognised by Confucianism, this State religion has little outward ceremonial. The study and contemplation and attempted performance of the moral precepts of the ancients constitute the duties of a Confucianist. Buddhism and Taoism present a very gorgeous and elaborate ritual in China, Taoism-originally a pure philosophy-having abjectly copied Buddhist ceremonial on the arrival of Buddhism, 1,800 years ago. Roman Large numbers of the Chinese in Middle and Southern China profess and practise all three religions. The bulk of the people, however, are Buddhists. There are probably about 30 million Mahometans, chiefly in the north-east and south-west. Catholicism has long had a footing in China, and is estimated to have about 1,000,000 adherents, with 25 bishoprics besides those of Manchuria, Tibet, Mongolia, and Corea; other Christian societies have stations in many parts of the country, the number of Protestant adherents being estimated at 50,000. Most of the aboriginal hill-tribes are still nature-worshippers, and ethnically are distinct from the prevailing Mongoloid population. Education of a certain type is very general, but still there are vast masses of adult countrymen in China who can neither read nor write. There is a special literary or lettered class who alone know the literature of their country, to the study of which they devote their lives. Yearly examinations are held for literary degrees and honours, which are necessary as a passport to the public service. Recently, Western literature, and especially works of science, have been introduced in translations, and schools for the propagation of Western science and literature are continually on the increase. The principal educational institution for this purpose is the 'Tung Wên Kwan,' or College of Foreign Knowledge, at Pekin, a Government institution, where the English, French, German, and Russian languages, and mathematics, astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, natural history, physiology, anatomy, and Western literature, are taught by European and American professors, while the Chinese education of the pupils is entrusted to eminent Chinese teachers. There are besides several colleges under the control of some of the numerous Roman Catholic and Protestant missionary bodies at Shanghai; and a number of smaller or elementary schools at Shanghai and other ports, where the English language and lower branches of Western science only form the subjects of study. The Chinese Government has of late years established naval and military colleges and torpedo schools in connection with the different arsenals at Tientsin, Shanghai, and Foochow, in which foreign instructors are engaged to teach such young Chinese as intend to make their career in the army or navy of their country Western modes of warfare, besides Western languages and literature. Two Chinese newspapers have for several years flourished at Shanghai, and the success they have achieved has led to the establishment of others at some of the other Treaty Ports. Army and Navy. According to Chinese official statistics the Army is composed as follows:- 1. The Eight Banners, including Manchus, Mongols, and the Chinese who joined the invaders under the Emperor Shunchili in A.D. 1644-total 323,800. Of these 100,000 are supposed to be reviewed by the Emperor at Pekin once a year. The number of guards in the Forbidden City, each of whom holds military rank, is given as 717. 2. The Ying Ping, or National Army, having 6,459 officers and 650,000 privates. The pay of the infantry is from 5 to 10 shillings a month, and the cavalry receive about 17., out of which each man must feed his horse, and replace it if the one originally supplied by the Government is not forthcoming. It is impossible to obtain any very reliable information about the Chinese army, but it is stated that great improvements have taken place since the last occasion upon which Chinese troops were opposed to Europeans. Large quantities of foreign-made arms have been purchased, and the arsenals in China, under foreign supervision, are said to be daily turning out both arms and ammunition. Captain Norman, in his book, 'Tonquin,' divides the army as follows:- :I. The Active Army, comprising 1. The Army of Manchuria; 2. The Army of the Centre; and II. The Territorial Army. This He gives the number of the Army of Manchuria as 70,000 men, divided into two army corps, the head-quarters of the one being at Tsitsihar the capital, and of the other at Moukden. Many of these troops are armed with the Mauser rifle, and possess a liberal supply of Krupp 8 centimètre field cannon. The Army of the Centre, having its head-quarters at Kalgan, an important town to the N.W. of Pekin, is numbered at 50,000 men in time of peace. number, however, can be doubled in case of war. The men are a hardy race, and are armed with Remington rifles. The Army of Turkestan is employed in keeping order in the extreme western territories, and could not, in all probability, be moved eastwards in the event of war with a European foe. The Territorial Army, or 'Braves,' is a kind of local militia, capable of being raised to a strength of probably 600,000 men. The numbers are kept down in time of peace to 200,000. The Tartar cavalry of the north are mounted on undersized but sturdy ponies. The small size of their horses, and their wretched equipment, render them no match for European cavalry. Permanent Manchu garrisons under Manchu officers are established in a few of the great cities on the coast and along the frontier. China has lately acquired a considerable Navy; the ships are many of them of an advanced type. The northern squadron, defending the capital, is the most powerful, and has been efficiently drilled and organised by an English naval officer. In 1885 the Chinese navy possessed 2 powerful armoured ships of modern type, built in Germany. These are sister ships, named the Ting Yuen and Chen Yuen. They are of 7,335 tons displacement, 6,000 horse-power, and of 14 knots speed. Their armour (steel-faced) is 14 inches thick, and they each carry four 12-inch Krupp breech-loading guns in two barbette towers, 'en echelon," protected by 12-inch armour, and two 6-inch guns. A third protected cruiser, also built in Germany, was launched at the end of 1883. She is of 2,300 tons displacement, has a protective deck 3 inches thick right fore and aft over machinery and magazines, &c., and carries two 8-inch Krupp guns in a barbette, protected by 10-inch armour and one 6-inch Krupp. During 1884 two unarmoured cruisers, the Nan Shuin and the Nun Thin, built at Kiel, were despatched to China. They are of steel, of about 2,200 tons displacement, and each carry two 8-inch Armstrong guns, besides a number of 40-pounders and machine guns. Two swift cruisers (unarmoured), the Chao Yung and the Yang Wei, built by Sir W. G. Armstrong & Co. in 1881, are also attached to the North China Squadron. Their hulls are of steel, they steam 16 knots, carry two 25-ton Armstrong guns, and four 40-pounders, and are only of 1,400 tons displacement. To the same squadron belong 12 gunboats, built by the Elswick firm, each carrying a single heavy gun-26-ton, 35-ton, or 38-ton. Two new heavily armed corvettes were built at Stettin, and two fast armoured cruisers by Sir W. Armstrong, during 1887; besides a fast torpedo-boat by Yarrow. The squadrons of Foochow, Shanghai, and Canton include between 40 and 50 unarmoured cruisers, corvettes, sloops, and gunboats. There is a cruiser of 2,150 tons and 2,400 horsepower built in China, and others are in course of construction. Some of these vessels are of considerable size and power. Several torpedo-boats of high speed and capable of using Whitehead torpedoes have also been acquired recently. Area and Population. Hitherto the population of China, it is believed, has been much over-estimated; a recent estimate of the population of China Proper will be found below. The following table gives a statement of the area and population of the whole of the Chinese Empire according to the latest estimates The territory of Corea is sometimes added to this total. According to official data referring to 1842 the population of the 18 provinces of China proper was 413 millions. Other estimates gave 350 millions, and the most recent unofficial calculation reduces the population to 282 millions. The following table is communicated to Globus,' No. 18, 1884, by a correspondent in Pekin. |