The vast Empire of China with its hundreds of millions of toiling slaves, with its old, old civilisation reaching back for untold years prior to the dawn of history in the West, with its manners and customs so worn into the national character that they almost form the character itself, with its fertile plains, its sandy deserts, its lofty mountains, its mighty rivers, its torrid heat and arctic cold, its devastating floods, its cruel famines and loathsome epidemics, represents a _mass_, the contemplation of which staggers the mind and makes one ask, "What is Europe trying to do here? Does she hope to conquer, to change or to purify?" After a residence of twelve years in various parts of the country I instinctively feel that while military occupation by the Great Powers may be possible, not only is China in a sense unconquerable, but that she is eminently a conquering nation, though not by clash of arms. Insidiously, remorselessly and viciously she will subdue apostles of the West who are sent to her, and unless persistently restrained will overflow into adjacent lands and conquer there by cheap labour and unremitting toil. For the photographs I am indebted to the generosity of Mrs T. Child, as well as to T.T.H. Ferguson, A.J.E. Allen, Carlos Cabral and the late H. Hall, Esquires. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. ANGLO-CHINESE LIFE 1 II. SERVANTS AND TRADESMEN 26 III. SHOOTING 46 IV. RIDING 73 V. SAILING 96 VI. JAMBOREES 119 VII. AROUND PEKING 139 VIII. HERE AND THERE 169 IX. THE MARRIAGE TIE 197 X. DISCUSSED POINTS: PEOPLE, LANGUAGE, MISSIONARIES, CHANCES 212 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PHOTO BY PAGODA NEAR HANKOW H. HALL _Frontispiece_ THE BRITISH CONCESSION, HANKOW _Chinese_ _To face page_ 3 HOUSE-COOLIE, BOY, COOK, AND "NO. 2." T.T.H. FERGUSON " 37 HOUSE-BOAT ON THE YANGTSE A.J.E. ALLEN " 50 THE CAB OF NORTHERN CHINA A.J.E. ALLEN " 75 THE OLD GRAND-STAND, HANKOW RACES, 1888 _Chinese_ " 87 FOOCHOW JUNK, SHOWING EYE T.T.H. FERGUSON " 98 PLAYING FANTAN IN PRIVATE HOUSE CARLOS CABRAL " 133 THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA T.T.H. FERGUSON " 158 AVENUE OF STONE FIGURES, MING TOMBS T.T.H. FERGUSON " 161