on Shameen Island in the Pearl River has every luxury in the way of
modern clubs, hotels and residences, and in the native city there are
clubs where the foreigner and native gentleman are trying to approach
nearer to each other. Canton has two dialects, the Cantonese and the
Hakka, and I know of no better authority on them than my old friend,
Dyer Ball, the veteran author and linguist of Hongkong, though Canton
has had many famous foreign students among her foreign residents in
exile. The curious Hakka tribe composes one-third of the inhabitants
of Canton. They can be distinguished by vivacity, by the flat hat with
valance, worn by the women, and by their love of jewelry. The sanpan,
junk, slipper boat and launch people, the most distinctive feature of
Canton’s life, are largely Hakka. For further information regarding
this tribe, which is also largely in evidence at Hongkong, Amoy and
Swatow, I would recommend Dyer Ball’s authoritative books. _Dutch Folly
Island_ commemorates an early settlement of trading Hollanders.
The writer in his book, _The Chinese_, dealt at length with the oldest
foreign settlement in China, the Portugese city of Macao, and its
famous author, Camoens, who wrote _The Lusiads_. Authors who have
written on quaint medieval Macao are Doctor Eitel, Norton Kyshe,
Montalto de Jesus, Kutschera, Ljungstedt, the famous Sir John Bowring
and the immortal Camoens himself. The largest library on the subject
is to be found in the National Libraries of Lisbon, Coimbra, and other
educational centers of old Portugal. The first American consuls lived
at Macao, as did also the noted Jesuit explorer Abbé Huc, in 1840, in
the seminary here. The British artist, Chinnery, lived and painted at
Macao, as did the lovely Chinese colorist, Nam Cheong. Edmund Roberts,
the first American ambassador of the United States “to Siam, Cochin and
Muscat” died of bubonic plague here on June 12, 1836. In a study of
Macao the old volume of the _Chinese Repository_ should not be left
unsearched. In a temple at Wang Hiya, beyond the quaint Porto Cerco
gate, the first commercial treaty between America and China was signed
respectively by Cushing, Daniel Webster’s son Fletcher, and Ki Ying.
The remarkable miniature garden at the governor’s summer palace on the
Monte Road should be seen, and rather amusing miniature photo statues
are to be seen in the cemeteries. The largest cement factory in China
(British owned) is on Green Island, which is connected by a causeway
with Macao. The silted up harbor is being dredged in an effort to
bring the long lost shipping back to old Macao. There is to be railway
connection with Canton, and there is palatial steamer connection with
Hongkong and Canton. The modern hotels, such as the Boa Vista and the
Hing Kee, are excellent, the former occupying an unusually scenic
site. The drives and Praya Grande are delightful. Macao is famous for
its medieval carnivals and processions. It has an ambitious Chinese
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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