Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 451: Volume 18, New Series, August 21, 1852 — John Shaqi
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 451: Volume 18, New Series, August 21, 1852Various
History
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 451: Volume 18, New Series, August 21, 1852
Various
Periodicals
'Justice from the tribunals! That is out of the question. The Kitats
are skilful to talk and to lie. It is impossible for a Mongol to gain
a suit against a Kitat. Sirs Lamas, the kingdom of Gechekten is
undone!'
After-experience amply corroborated the truth of these statements.
'The commercial intercourse between the Tartars and the Chinese is
revoltingly iniquitous on the part of the latter. So soon as the
Mongols arrive in a trading town, they are snapped up by some Chinese,
who carry them off, as it were, by main force to their houses, give
them tea for themselves, and forage for their horses, and cajole them
in every conceivable way. The Mongols take all they hear to be
perfectly genuine, and congratulate themselves--conscious, as they
are, of their inaptitude for business--upon their good-fortune in thus
meeting with brothers _Ahaton_, as they say, in whom they can place
full confidence, and who will undertake to manage their whole business
for them. A good dinner, provided in the back-shop, completes the
illusion--and when once the Chinese has established his hold, he
employs all the resources of a skilful and utterly unprincipled
knavery. He keeps his victim in his house, eating, drinking, and
smoking one day after another, until his subordinates have sold all
the poor man's cattle, or whatever else he has to sell, and bought for
him in return the commodities he requires, at prices double and treble
the market value. But so plausible is the Chinese, and so simple is
the Tartar, that the latter invariably departs with the most entire
confidence in the immense philanthropy of the former, and with a
promise to return, when he has other goods to sell, to the
establishment where he has been treated so fraternally.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account