Chapter II: Introduction

General situation--Eve of the war--Political outlook
in Russia--Characteristics of the two capitals--Siberia
and Siberians--Conquest of Manchuria--Position of China
and the Powers--Korea's difficulties--Racial tendencies _Page_ xvii

I

THE TSAR AND TSARINA AT THEIR HOME OF PETERHOF

The Baltic station of St. Petersburg--The Imperial "Special"
--Through the suburbs of the capital--Peterhof--Sentries
and passwords--The Imperial Family's favourite home--
Alexandrovsky--A homely interior--The Empress and her tastes
--Mother and wife--H.M. Nicholas II--A conversation on
different topics 1

II

TO THE FAR EAST BY THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY

Main characteristics--The Emperor's kind hospitality--Prince
Chilkoff, Minister of Communications--Last days at
St. Petersburg--The metropolis of incoherence--Typical
Russian departure--On the way to Moscow--The agricultural
districts--A short visit to Pienza--Conversations on board
the Trans-Siberian express--Political and economical
appreciations--Crossing the Volga--In the land of the Baskirs
--The Ural range--Western Siberia--The colonization of the
uninhabited regions--Growing townships--Central Siberia--
Unlimited pastures and endless forests--The Altai range--
Irkutsk--The Siberian Paris--Arrival--Luggage difficulties
--Civility and kindness--The luxuries of the Hotel du
Metropole--Plush and gold, but no air and no water--A gloomy
evening and a bright morning--The life and the lights of
the city--Lake Baikal--The islands of dwarfs and fairies--
The large fairy coat--Myssowa a new mining centre--Petrovsk,
the town of inferno--Trans-Baikalia--Buriats and their
pilgrimages to Tibet--The Amur region--On the frontier of
Manchuria 16

III

MANCHURIA UNDER RUSSIAN RULE

The Manchurian frontier--Russian soldiers and officials--
Public safety--Trains provided with military escort--The
Eastern Chinese Railway Company--The system of construction
--On the borders of the desert of Gobi--The travel by goods
trains--My special car my home--The railway stations: what
they looked like--Geographical beauty and ethnological features
--Tsi-tsi-kar, the capital of Northern Manchuria--Customs and
habits--Primitive modes of living--Kharbin (Harbin), the
junction of the eastern Asiatic railway lines--The news of
the bridge by Liaoyang carried away by floods--The centre of
mobilization--Harbin's part in case of war--Pleasant surprises
--At last a new start--Central Manchuria--The mineral wealth
of this region--Kirin, a picturesque city--Fine scenery--
A dull dawn--Station and station-master--The hunt for a
vehicle--A typical Chinese cart--The horrors of a night's
journey--Manchurian highroads--Exchanging the cart with a
mule--A beautiful bridge--_How-di_ and _Poo-how_--The
fantastic aspect of the scenery--The comforts of little Li-Hu
--In a marauders' inn--Lugubrious den and its keepers--In
midst of Chunchuses--The bargain with Li-Hu for his charge--
Chinese diplomacy and Western art save my purse--Farewell
from my companions--A fine daybreak, and the sun throws a
veil of obligation over the misery of the night 63

IV

THE CAPITAL OF MANCHURIA

First view of Mukden--The streets, shops, and inhabitants--
Public buildings--The Palace--The Russian occupation--
Friendliness of Russians and Manchus--Administrative
divisions of Manchuria--Official reception by the Governor--
A luncheon party--Manchus and Hungarians--Visit to the
Imperial Tombs--A magnificent arch--The Great Ancestor--
Outbreak of cholera--Dinner with the Russian Resident--
Russian hospitality--Return journey to the station--
An adventurous drive--Across country--Chunchuses--Safe
arrival at the station 88

V

PORT ARTHUR, DALNY, NIU-CHWANG, TIEN-TSIN

Chinese agriculture--Friendliness between Russians and
Chinese--Rebuilding a bridge at Liaoyang--Difficulties of
crossing--Arrival at Port Arthur--The staff at Port Arthur--
Essentially a military port--Dalny--Niu-chwang--Official
journal description--Trade--Niu-chwang a real Chinese town--
Description--Future of Niu-chwang--The Catholic Mission--
Official transfer of the railway to the Chinese
Governor-General of Manchuria--The famous Chinese wall--
Hankan-chang--Dinner with the English Commander--
Li Hung-Chang--His weakness for speculation--Taku--
Tien-tsin--The home of the Progressive Party--The Boxer
rising, 1900--Drawing near Pekin--Wonderful sunset--First
Impressions 119

VI

PEKIN

I: Gloomy arrival--The first disappointment--Incoherent
impressions of the following day--Yamen of the Legation
--How the city appeared on my round of exploration.

II: Appreciations after the first month's stay--
Contradictions of the Yellow metropolis--Plan and outline
--Light and shadow.

III: Sights of Pekin--Chinese, Tartar, Imperial, Purple,
Inner, and Sacred cities--Winter and Summer Palaces--
Neighbourhood and western hills--Pagodas--Temples--
Shrines--Bell and Drum Towers--Chinese city--Commercial
life and shops--Pei-tang--International quarter of
Legations 141

VII

THE DOWAGER EMPRESS AND THE EMPEROR OF CHINA AT THE SUMMER PALACE

Pekin in the early morning--En route to the Summer Palace
--Varied modes of locomotion--On the highway--Prince Ching,
Minister of Foreign Affairs--The pageant of the Dragon--The
Imperial residence--Princes and mandarins--The splendour of
the Court--Picturesque uniforms and artistic decorations--Her
Majesty the Empress Regent--A striking personality--The
Manchu fashions--Reception of the diplomatic body--The doyen's
complimentary speech, and the Regent's sarcastic answer--The
Emperor--The wonderland of the state banquet of hundred
dainties--Supper at the Pei-tang Orphanage 175

VIII

KOREA OF BYGONE DAYS AND ON THE EVE OF THE WAR

Glimpses of the past and present--Geographical features--
Topography--Soil--Mineral Wealth--Mountains and valleys--
Rivers and bays--Climate and natural advantages--The flora
and fauna--Minerals--Ethnological--The Korean race: Its
origin--Physical and moral characteristics--The ancient
Korea--Early myth of the land--First history--Foundation
of the present dynasty--Chinese policy--Internal troubles--
Home and foreign affairs--The administration of the country
--The defence--Justice--Torture--The criminal court--Public
education--Examination system--Language--The present dynasty
--The Emperor--Tai-Wen-Kun--The Royal Prince--Social and
public existence--Daily life--The role of men and women--
Korean children--Marriage--General occupations--Agriculture
--Trades--Domestic routine--Spinning--Weaving--Sewing--
Ironing--Cooking--Recreations--Music--Theatricals--Singing
--National dances--Old customs--Dwellings--Food--Dress--
Games--Sports--The awakening of Korea--International
treaties--Commerce and shipping--Mining concessions--
Means of locomotion--Pedlars' Guild--Railways--Electric
tramways--Changes in the last quarter of a century--Korea's
open ports--Foreign influences--Antagonistic movements--
Apathy and fermentation--Puzzles and problems of the
present--Korea's future 189

IX

SEOUL, THE CAPITAL OF KOREA

Late arrival--Moonlight impressions--General effects--
A fairy city--The dawn--Military display--The Korean sons
of Mars--My first walk through the town--Street life--Shops
and booths--A battle-royal--The Emperor's commemoration
hall--The old palace yard--Korean vehicles--Servants and
liveries--A noble wedding--Quaint customs--The dowry--
Korean T. Atkins--Native school--Master and pupils--
The R.C. Mission--The new cathedral--Sunset--Barracks--
Toy hussars--Canine street police--Faithful guardians--
Glorious evening--Princely funeral--The catafalques and
cortege--_Danse macabre_--Some reflections 240

X

THE EMPEROR OF KOREA AT THE NEW PALACE

The capital in a state of revolution--Imperial invitation
--My sedan-chairs--The little suite of _Kisos_ and _Mapus_
--The New Palace--An incoherent _tout ensemble_--Court
dignitaries--Elaborate uniforms--The Imperial apartments--
Court etiquette--The Emperor--A thousand questions--
The Crown Prince--State robes--The chief eunuch--Farewell--
Y.-Yung-Yk the favourite 263

XI

TOKIO

First surprises--The Japanese capital on a dreary winter
morning--General aspect of the city--Artistic disappointments
--Sights of Yeddo--The famous Shogun graves--"Tories" and
pagodas--Natural beauties of the capital--Artistic qualities
--The Katsura-no-Rikyu Palace--The school of the aesthetics
--The world seen from the Tsuki-mi-dai--Actual characteristics
--Numbers and activity--Railways--Shipping--Electric
companies--Telegraphs and telephones--Modern institutions--
Schools--University--Public library--Printing offices--
Students and their work--Brain power and technical skill--
Commercial museum--The capital at work 275

XII

THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF JAPAN AT THE YEDDO PALACE

Tokio buried in snow--Black and white effects--The Imperial
grounds--Avenues of cryptomerea--The Yeddo Palace--The home
of the Mikado--Disappointments--Modern transformations--
Western comfort and Japanese art--Private apartments--
The Mikado--His Majesty's appearance--A long conversation--
The Empress--A sincere interest in European topics--
Education and charitable work--The Japanese woman--Her sense
of duty--The virtue of self-abnegation--The great halls--
A Lilliputian garden--National taste and aesthetics 300

XIII

JAPAN AND CHINA ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY