Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. IV.pdf/56



I HAVE already had a good deal to say in these pages about Chinese soldiers, and about the weapons which they use in modern times, but upon their military competitive examinations I have not yet touched. These examinations take place periodically in the chief cities of the Empire, and by their agency an incentive is held out to the soldier who, by his personal prowess and by his skill in the use of arms, may rise to the higher grades in the army. The Chinese, however, or rather the Manchus, notwithstanding the fact that the system which admits of promotion by prowess and skill is a good one, will have to remodel their military examinations, if they would maintain their ground against the nations that are growing up around them. The tests of bow and arrow and muscular power must become things of the past, and be replaced by tests of engineering knowledge, of the art of disciplining troops and marshalling them for the field of battle, and, indeed, of whatever we understand in Europe as the modern science of war. At present, in addition to exercise in the use of the old weapons, military candidates are required to write out a short treatise on Chinese military tactics.

Nos. 43 and 44 are fair types of the Manchu soldiers of the north of China. On September 18, 1871, I witnessed the review of an army of men such as these on the plain that stretches away northwards outside the Art-ting gate of the Tartar city. Many of the troops assembled there were armed with bows and arrows, and many more with the old fuse matchlocks shown in No. 43, while in the belt a row of breech-loading cartridges was stored. The subject of No. 44 held military rank, and was also a dexterous marksman.

THE Mongols here shown (No. 45) belong to the nomadic and pastoral races inhabiting the steppes of Mongolia. They visit Peking in great numbers during the winter months, and bring with them herds of cattle, quantities of frozen game, as well as the rich furs for which their country is famous. There is a Mongol market at the back of the British Legation, and there they congregate and pitch their tents. I found that this old lady's family had rented a Chinese dwelling, and, strange as it may seem, had stabled their mules in the dwelling-house proper, while they pitched their own tents in the courtyard outside. This is no uncommon practice with them, and shows how habit among these nomads has become a second nature. Dr. Williams gives us a correct description of the physical appearance of these Mongols. He says: — "The Mongol tribes generally are a stout, squat, swarthy, ill-favoured race of men, having high and broad shoulders, short broad noses, pointed and prominent chins, long teeth distant from each other, eyes black, elliptical, and unsteady, thick short necks extremely bony and nervous, muscular thighs, but short legs, with a stature nearly or quite equal to the European."

They seem now-a-days to have forgotten the art of war, and, indeed, to have changed their whole nature since the time of Genghis Khan.