LAND OF MISRULE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18471, 7 August 1923, Page 9

LAND OF MISRULE.

CONTRASTS IN CHINA.

BRIGANDAGE AND INDUSTRY

GREAT INVENTIVE" GENIUS.

" The most wonderful country in the world " is the way Mr. R. Powell,' of the China Inland Mission, refers to the vast land of misrule. Mr. Powell, who, with his wife, is now in Auckland on deputation work, has spent 27 years in China, the last period being among the Miao or aboriginal people, who inhabit the mountain country of the south-west. , There is not half an acre of flat land in the vicinity of his station, all the cultivation being carried on in terraced plots around the mountain sides. There is not a road in the district nor a wheeled vehicle of any kind, not even the humble wheelbarrow. The tracks thereabouts are a series of stone staircases winding up and down the slopes with stone bridges over the streams, a wonderful feature being that the span of the arch has been proved scientifically to be the strongest possible. The noble hills and valleys are gloriously wooded as photographs taken by Mr. Powell show. Life is Simple. The people 'livo in villages; they have no written language, traditions being passed down from grandfather to grandson. > In this way the people possess a strange version of the story of the Flood. They number 70 millions, and 70,000 are receiving Christian instruction. Despite the rugged nature cf the country,' there are 100 people to the square mile, against 12 to the square mile in New Zealand. Only 60 years ago were these people conquered by the Chinese, . and then through the genius ' of one, General Meseney, a Guernsey Islander, who, after years of roaming, settled in China., He came to the aid of, three armies held up by the Miaos. who could make fortresses by the simple expedient of walling up a ravine. These armies could not advance because an eight-days' journey was necessary to bring up rice. He organised food supplies, and grasped the importance of percussion caps' just coming into use. The Miaos had only fuse locks, and so could not fight in the rain. Meseney's troops advanced with percussion caps and umbrellas over them and conquered, the general receiving the highest distinction which was not awarded even <to Gordon. Sportsmanlike Brigands. But the days of war are not over, anyway in China, except in one province, where there is *a progressive mandarin whose present concern is making a, motor road. Brigands are ravaging the land. Sometimes they operate in thousands, marching' on a front of miles, and living on the people. Some missionaries have been taken and held to ransom. Rich merchants are always in demand. When one is taken away and the ransom is slow in coming, the gentleman's little finger is sent in to expedite payment. One lady missionary has ehown great courage in dealing with brigands. She has followed them to their mountains and has brought back native Christians they have carried off. On one occasion she succeeded in attracting a band to her church, where she delivered a vigorous denunciation of their conduct from the pulpit. They can be sportsmen, according to Mr. Powell. Once they held captive a native preacher, who escaped by jumping down a cliff. He found succour at a church not far away, but a few days later the brigands wrote to the missionary saying that the man had no conscience because he had not paid for his three weeks' board. A sum of 500 dollars was sent to them and that they regarded as sufficient. Sometimes a man is a brigand and sometimes a soldier, occasionally both. There have been cases where the soldiers have run away in a fight leaving , their rifles and ammunition. The next day there were little piles of silver where the rifleshad been. When bands of brigands become law-abiding citizens, it means that they are. collecting the taxes. .Through all this chaos the missionaries carry on, stimulated by the steady growth of Christianity. " The amazing thing," said Mr. Powell, " is thai the brigandage does not affect the life of the millions, which goes oh placidly." Modes o! Transport and Travel. ' Like many another . European from China Mr. Powell has an intense admiration for the • inventive genius of the Chinese.'•„ "Their modes of transport and travel are always adapted to meet the physical conditions of the country," he said. " Where the land is more or .less flat the wheelbarrow is employed, but a wheelbarrow that conforms to all scientific principles. The wheel is in . the middle, the handles are wide apart, and it is possible for a man to cover 20 to 30 miles a day with a load of 4cwt. When there is a favourable wind the men hoist a sail to aid them, : " Their boats vary with the conditions to be met. One class is designed for the rapids of the Great River, another for the lakes, and so on. On the shallow rivers that will not float 'a, boat: they use a long raft on which one man can pull a ton. Here is a photograph of their plaited bamboo hauling rones used to pull the hoats up the rapids. They are plaited when green. White men doing such work would be in a constant tangle and probably would have a boy to, add. to the commotion. The Chinese preclude anything of the sort by. plaiting from the fop of a little tower.' < # . V "Take the timber industry in the interior! Two or three logs are started off down a little creek. •' When the water widens a small raft is formed ; and a house is built upon it. Later the raft grows until it may cover two acres, requiring 100 men to man It,' all of whom live in houses on it. By, the time •it reaches the market, perhaps a year after the first ; logs were started, it is a. small village with its pigs and fowls and anything of a saleable nature that could be purchased en route." Ancient Potteries. Mr. Powell was enthusiastic over the King te Chehi potteries, founded by the Emperor 1000 years ago. The town continues Its ancient craft, and so great is the number of furnaces that the temperature of >he town is 10 degrees higher than that of the surrounding country. Some of the old secrets in connection with the manufacture of porcelain have been ' lost, as they were confined to families. Recently, Mr. Powell compzired some modern plaques with originals, and was informed that in every detail could | the old ones be reproduced except the ! surface of coloured . portions. In the old the coloured portions were perfectly flat, but in the modern they were slightly raised. ' Masters of the porcelain art continue to search for the lost secret.