Description:

JOURNAL OF A BOAT TRIP ON THE WEST RIVER, CANTON
SILVESTER WHITEHEAD (1841-1917) Methodist missionary to China, later President of the Methodist Conference. A strong opponent of the Chinese opium trade. Autograph manuscript journal, "Journal of a trip on the West River", by Silvester Whitehead, Canton, 1868, 45pp. 8vo., bound in its original boards covered with marbled paper. The journal, written in a neat and legible cursive script, commences on November 5 with Whitehead, two other missionaries, George Piercy and F.P Napier, and several other British travelers, embarking on a pleasure boat and departing Canton by way of the Fa Ti Creek. Here, and throughout the journal, the Romanized name is accompanied by the proper Chinese characters. Each landmark, pagoda, and point of interest is so named. Throughout, Whitehead''s style is very detailed and colorful, recording not only the sights that he sees, but his emotional reaction to the trip. Whitehead makes note of the agricultural practices of the communities that they pass, especially the rice harvest. At Fatshan, the party goes ashore and examines a device used by farmers for thrashing rice. There, they also speak with the only Protestant Christian living in this city of 400,000. The following day, they find their passage blocked by the low tide and the river traffic, and to pass the time the party goes ashore. There, the scenery reminds Whitehead of the English countryside of Yorkshire. On the 7th, Whitehead makes note of a leper colony on the banks of the river, "... the poor inmates of which are not allowed to come out & mix in society again until they have been clear of the disease for three generations..." He also notes a large number of brick kilns and an abandoned guard house, which prompts some wry observations on the prevalence of robbers. The missionaries take some time to go ashore to distribute literature and make addresses on the Christian faith. They stop again at the village of Sam Shui, famous for resisting a rebel attack in 1854. There Whitehead observes the practice of oxen treading out corn, and draws some Biblical parallels. The party enters the West River proper on the 8th, the delta of which allows Whitestone the opportunity to make more very detailed observations about local agriculture, including a detailed description of a corn grinder. They also visit a carpenter''s shop, where Whitehead impresses the locals with his skill at sawing a log. Back on the river, the party passes a rock formation which is said to resemble a woman waiting her husband to return from war, and Whitehead records a poem on the subject, in Chinese, with the English translation below: "High sits the lady by the stream; no roof above, no couch below; Her mirror is the sun''s bright gleam, Her silver lamp the moon''s mild glow. A thousand years her hair flies free, Ten thousand years her robes are blown; Her husband''s face when shall she see? Her silent grief will rend the stone." The party then visits the town of Shui Hing, where Whitehead describes the four massive pagodas and a rattan drum with a head 2 1/2 yards in diameter. The following day, the party is taken in sedan chairs to view the rock formations behind the town, including a cave known as the "rice yielding cave", which contains a shrine and several relics. Later, they visit the mountain monastery of Hing Wan, and Whitehead provides a thorough description of its architecture and decorations, as well as the geography which surrounds it. One of the most exciting encounters of the journey occurs on the 12th: "... Between Pak Nou and Kau Kong we passed an island where we had been told that Pirates had taken a boat a short time before. We approached it just at the dinner hour. Suddenly one of our men burst into the cabin, half-frightened out of his senses & told us to come out ... The Pirates were just crossing the stern of our boat & making up to us; but this sudden burst knocked the pluck out of them at once. The sight of 3 foreigners was too much for them, & they instantly showed us their backs..." The final stop on their journey is the town of Sai Tsiu Shan, after which they return home to Canton. Whitehead''s account provides an early and significant look at life in the interior of the Canton province, an area not widely seen by Western eyes at the time. The pages bear some toning, and the lower left corner of the back cover is damaged, else very good.

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