[SSU-YÜ, Teng, & FAIRBANK, John K. (1982).China's response to the West. A documentary Survey,1839-1923. Cambridge. Harvard University Press, pg. 42-46]
Xu Chiyu’s acceptance of Western Geography, 1848
[On Britain and her empire]The population of England is dense and the food insufficient. It is necessary for them to import from other countries. More than 490,000 people are engaged in weaving. The weaving machine is made of iron, and is operated by a steam engine, so it can move automatically. Thus labor is saved and the cost of production is low. Each year more than 400,000 piculs [1 picul equals 133 lb.] of cotton are used, all of which are shipped in from the five parts of India and America. . . Silk is purchased and shipped from China and Italy. The work of manufacturing guns, cannon, knives, swords, clocks, watches, and various kinds of utensils and tools for daily use is done by about 300,000 people. Each year the income from the various products is worth approximately ten million taels or more. Their commercial ships are in the four seas; there is no spot which they do not reach. The great profits go to the merchants and dealers, while the workers are poor.
[Hsü then describes the British Parliament and its activities, and the system of trial by jury]
The English procedure of legal inquiry is that, when there is evidence of crime, the offender is arrested or sent to the court. When he is about to be examined, six persons of good reputation are first selected from among the common people and the offender is also ordered to select six persons for himself. Together the twelve persons make the inquiry, and decide the merits of the case before they report it to the judge. The judge then examines it and the law is executed. . .
England consists merely of three islands, simply a handful of stones in the western ocean. Her area is estimated to be about the same as Taiwan and Ch'iung-chou [Hainan]. . . Even if the soil is all fertile, how much can be produced locally? The reason for her becoming suddenly rich and strong, exerting political influence here and there beyond tens of thousands of li is that in the west she obtained America and in the east she obtained the various parts of India. The land of America hangs isolated on the globe, and since ancient times it has been little known. In the Wan-li period (1573-1620) of the Ming, it was discovered, and then a rich soil of ten thousand li was added to Great Britain, soon making her immensely rich. Even though the land of America is separated from England by ten thousand li, the British are skilled in ocean navigation, and make the voyage as easily as crossing a marshy ground with weeds. When the southern part was ceded to the United States of America, the northern part [i.e., Canada] which, though vast, is as barren and cold as Chinese Mongolia (was retained by the British). After England lost this part [U. S. A.], she almost lost her prosperity [lit., color].
The five Indias lie on the Southwest of China. . . In 1755 Bengal was annexed, and taking advantage of their victories the English stealthily encroached on the various states like silkworms eating mulberry leaves. The various parts, scattered and weak, could not resist, and consequently more than half became British colonies. The land produces cotton and also opium. After opium became popular in China, ten-fold profits were made. The revenue collected by the English in large measure comes from the five Indias. To have lost in the west [America] and yet to have made it up in the east [India]—how fortunate she is!
After the English obtained the five Indias, they gradually expanded toward the Southeast. Along the eastern coast of the Indian Ocean, ports were opened everywhere. . . Malacca and Hsi-li (author's note: that is, Singapore) were exchanged with Holland. Eighty or ninety per cent of the wealth of the Small Western Ocean (Note: the Indian Ocean), came under British control. In the farther east, of the states on the various islands in the southern ocean of China, except Luzon which belongs to Spain, the rest are all trading ports of Holland. The luxurious places like Ko-lo-pa (Note: that is, Java), the strategic areas like Manila (Note: that is, small Luzon) also were coveted by the English. Unfortunately other people already possessed them; she had no reason to take them by force. And yet, she goes to and fro on the eastern sailing route, using the two places as her hostelries, and Spain and Holland dare not offend her in the least. . . At the present time, what Britain relies upon to be her outside treasury and to extend the power of her nation lies in the five Indies. The territory is on the Southwest of further Tibet, whence it only takes twenty or thirty days to go to Canton by sea. This colony of the British has been for a long time close to our southern frontier, and yet our critics merely know that England proper is over 70,000 1i away.
England herself is geographically small in area, but very numerous in population. The arable land is not sufficient to supply food for one-tenth of the population. Before the ceding of North America, the unemployed British subjects usually sailed westward to seek sustenance. After the ceding of America, the remaining land of England in the northern region [i.e., Canada] was too cold for farming. Even though the large territory of the five Indies was obtained, there were originally inhabitants in that area, and there was no unoccupied territory. Although many English people went to live there, after all they could not reverse their guest position to become the hosts [p. 47], and therefore they were anxious to find new places. In recent years, the great island of New Holland [New Zealand] has been obtained. The grass and weeds have been cut down in order that criminals may be banished to that place. The poor people, who have no means of making a living, were also taken there for settlement. In moving these people over a distance of 80,000 li, it was a hard and painstaking job (for the government) to plan to feed and accommodate the people. [End of commentary]
The annual revenue of England, apart from paying the interest to merchants is approximately Tls. 200,000,000 and more. The expenditure is also more than Tls. 200,000,000. The size of the regular army of England proper is 90,000 men. In India, the British soldiers are 30,000, and the local troops 230,000, who are called "sepoy" soldiers. She has more than 600 warships, large and small, and more than 100 steamships. Their sailors wear blue uniforms and their army wear red. The navy is stressed but the army is slighted. They depend entirely upon rifles and guns, and are not skillful in boxing. Excepting knives and swords, they have no other weapons.
[In the succeeding section of commentary, the author describes the types and sizes of British warships and their structure, and notes that the foreign ships are not afraid of storms but are vulnerable to rocks in the sea. He also describes Western cannon and the structure of steamships and their operation. His details indicate an understanding of the theory of steam propulsion. He also states that the steam engine was first used in Europe for weaving, later on extended to steamships, and in recent years in America extended to locomotives.]
[On the American resolution and the U. S. A.]
In the middle of the Ch'ien-lung (Qianlong) period (1736-1795), England and France were engaged in a war which lasted for years without being settled. Hundreds of methods had been used to raise provisions, and the rate of taxation was doubled. According to the old regulation, the seller of tea had to pay a tax; the British then ordered the purchasers also to pay a tax. The Americans could not bear this. In 1775, the local gentry gathered together in a public building, wanting to discuss the problem with their resident chieftain. The chieftain [i.e., British official] drove away the petitioners and urged the levy of the tax even more harshly. The multitude of the people were so irritated that they threw the tea from the ships into the sea, and they planned to raise an army to fight against the British.
There was a certain Washington (Hua-sheng-tun; note: also written Wang-hsing-t'eng and Wa-sheng-tun), a native of another part of America [i.e., not of Massachusetts], born in 1731 [1732]. When he was ten he lost his father, and his mother educated him and brought him up. He had cherished great ambitions in youth and was gifted in both literary and military matters. He was unusually gallant and robust. Once [p. 15] he served as a British military officer. . . When the time came for the multitude of the people to revolt against the British, they urged Washington [lit., Tun, i.e., taking the last syllable as surname] to be their commander. . . The army of Washington was defeated, and his followers were so discouraged that they wished to be disbanded and to go away. Washington maintained his spirit as usual. He gathered his forces and grouped them into an army to fight again, and he was victorious. Thus in eight years of bloody war, he was repeatedly defeated, but he also repeatedly refused to be discouraged. . .
After Washington settled his country's affairs, he gave up arms and intended to return to his farm. The multitude could not bear to leave him, but insisted on electing him the head of the state. Then Washington held a discussion with the multitude, saying that to establish a state and to hand it down to his descendants would be selfish; the duty of looking after the people should be carried on by selecting those who have virtue. The traditional divisions [pu, parts] were set up as individual states, and each state has a commander [i.e., governor]. . . The leaders of the villages and towns write down the names of those whom they are going to elect and put them in a box. After this is finished, the box is opened, and the one who has obtained the most votes is established as governor. Whether he is an officer or of the common people, there is no restriction according to his previous status and after retirement, the governor is still considered an equal of the common people. . .
The whole continent of America reaches the great western [i.e., Atlantic] ocean in the east, and the great ocean sea [i.e., Pacific Ocean] in the west. The United States are all in the eastern part. . . The uncultivated region in the west is all occupied by the aborigines. Whenever new territory is to be opened, at first hunters are employed to kill the bears, deer, and wild oxen, and then the unemployed people are allowed to cultivate the land. When forty thousand inhabitants have been gathered together or born in the region, then a city is built which is given a name as a territory [pu] attached to the whole group of states. At present, apart from the states three territories have been added.
The various states of America have an equable and normal climate. In the north it is like Chihli and Shansi and in the south it is like Kiangsu and Chekiang. The river currents are gentle and the soil is good. There is no desert and little plague. (Note: in the south there is a pestilential vapor, but it is not very poisonous.) The land is level and fertile and suitable for the five grains. Cotton is the best and the most produced, whence the various countries like England and France all get their supplies. There are all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Tobacco leaves are extremely good and are circulated far and wide. In the mountains coal, salt, iron, and white lead are produced. Within the country there are many small rivers, and the Americans have dredged them from place to place in order to facilitate water transportation. Steam locomotives [lit., fire-wheel carts] are also made. Stones are used to pave the road bed and they melt iron and pour it like a liquid in order to smooth the running of the train. Within one day it can run more than 300 li. Steamships are even more numerous, running back and forth on the rivers and seas like shuttles, because the land produces much coal. . .
Once every two years, one person is elected for his outstanding ability and point of view out of every 47,700 people to stay at the capital city to participate in and discuss the national affairs. In the capital, where the president lives, there is a congress (kung-hui) representing all the states, each of which elects two wise men to participate in this congress and decide great political issues such as making an alliance, declaring war or adopting defensive measures, determining the rate of customs and taxes on trading transactions and the like. The full term is six years. In each state there are six judges to take charge of making verdicts or imprisonments. They are also elected to fill these positions. If there is anyone who is prejudiced or unfair he may be removed by public opinion. . .
The standing army of the United States of America is not more than 10,000, who are distributed among various forts and strategic points. Except for scholars, physicians, and astronomers, the rest of the people—farmers, workers, and merchants— from twenty to forty years old are subject to selection by the officials to serve as militia [min-ping] and are issued registration cards. . . The militia system of about 1,700,000 men is fundamentally identical with the method of our ancient people who quartered troops on the farmers.
In the United States of America, all the white men have immigrated to live there; there are people from all countries of Europe but those coming from England, Holland, and France are the most numerous. Among these three countries, England again provided more than one-half. Therefore, the spoken and written language is the same as that of England. . . The business and transportation work is all done by the white people. The people are docile, good-natured, mild, and honest. They do not have the fierce and cruel bearing of birds of prey. They work very hard in making a living and their merchant ships sail the four seas. All the states of America accept the religion of Jesus [i.e., Protestant Christianity], and are fond of academic discussions and activities. Everywhere there are schools. Their scholars in general are divided into three kinds: namely, academic, studying astronomy, geography, and the tenets of Christianity; medical, for curing diseases; and legal, for training lawyers and judges.