Art Treasures of Kinloch Castle: C H I N A and JAPAN 1892-1895

C H I N A and J A P A N

1892-1895 WORLD TOUR OF GEORGE BULLOUGH

BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION:

Please read notes at the end of this Post.

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BLOG 85 - ALBUM XVII * Photographs 1 - 19.

Album XVII * Image 27.

The original photograph attributed to Shanghai photographer William Saunders.

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William Thomas Saunders 1832-1892.

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CHINESE EXECUTIONS

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Transcript of report in “San Francisco Call”

Volume 70, Number 14 * 14 June 1891

Quoting original article in: “THE CHINA MAIL” - Hong Kong 3 June 1891.

(Transcribed by George W. Randall)

EXECUTIONS AT KOWLOON CITY.

The Manner in Which Fifteen Chinese Pirates Were Beheaded.

“The Short but Impressive Ceremony” as

Described by a Paper Publisher in China –

A Tired Executioner.

On the afternoon of the 11^th of May (1891) fifteen prisoners were beheaded at Kowloon City. Among the number were six Namoa pirates, including the three leaders of the gang, namely Fung San Yau, Lai A Tsat and Chan A Yu. The other three were Wan A Fat, Cheung Sui Shang and Ho Fat To. The last-named was the captain of one of the junks on board which the pirates put plunder. The remainder of the fifteen were men sentenced for various crimes, but they appear to have been all unknown in Hong Kong. The execution attracted an unusually large crowd, and the interest of the spectators seemed to centre in the Namoa men. This was particularly the case as regards the large contingent of visitors from Hong Kong. It is just five months and a day since the piracy of the (S.S.) Namoa and the murder of Captain Pocock and Mr. Petersen took place. For a long time it seemed that the leaders of that diabolical business were to escape with the fruits of their crime. They got, thanks to the apathy of the naval authorities here, a very favourable start. The police of the colony, if they were to depend on their efforts, were utterly powerless, but the Chinese authorities bestirred themselves in the matter in a way that showed they were very much in earnest. General Fong Ye, an officer of untiring energy and unwavering determination, undertook the task of tracking and bringing to justice those of the pirates who were known to have sought refuge in Chinese territory. The result has exceeded in a very large measure the expectations of the colony, for not only have fifteen of the miscreants now paid for their crime with their lives but among these the three men who were undoubtedly

THE LEADERS OF THE GANG

have suffered. One of these, Lai A Tsat - a man whose boldness and cunning in carrying out such exploits have made him a terror both at sea and on shore for a long time – was the person who had charge of that portion of the gang of pirates whose duty it was to seize and keep guard over the European officers, engineers and passengers of the Namoa. He was referred to by the witnesses in the inquiry here as the pirate chief. The real chief, however, was Fung San Yau. He was the man who directed the whole of the operations, a man far superior to Lai A Tsat in intelligence, though not his equal in daring. Mr. Wodehouse’s almost complimentary reference to Lai A Tsat’s lack of brutality and bloodthirstiness was misplaced; for it is well known now that this ruffian insisted on the necessity of setting fire to the ship before leaving it, and Fung San Yau had great difficulty in overruling him. The other leader, Chan A Yu, a Hakka from Shaukiwan, did not specially distinguish himself in the piracy. He was under police supervision and on the eve of the piracy sought permission from the Inspector of Police at Shaukiwan to go and “collect some rents in the country.” Of the three remaining pirates whose bodies are now lying on Kowloon beach, nothing particular is known here.

The short but impressive ceremony at the execution was of the kind usual on such occasions. The prisoners were brought down from Canton in a gun-boat, and amid the usual firing of guns from war-vessels and fort, they were put into a couple of small boats to be taken ashore.

TO THE EXECUTION GROUND

Where a crowd of Chinese and Europeans ranged themselves around an oblong square formed by armed “braves.” The tide being out, the boats stuck in the mud when within about fifty yards of the shore, and had to be shoved off and rowed to the pier. A few minutes later the prisoners, with their arms corded tightly behind them and their ankles loaded with chains, came slowly along the rude pier to the place of execution guarded by a squad of “braves.” Meanwhile the chief executioner and his two apprentices, having cleared a space sufficiently large, and stuck four of their heavy swords into the ground, whiled away the time in chaff with some of the officers present. The Namoa men were among the first lot of prisoners who arrived and a howl of execration from the crowd greeted their appearance. “You’re Ko Lo Chai (Lai A Tsat),” said the chief executioner, laying his hand on the shoulder of a tall, thin man with a “chop-dollar” face - (a face deeply pitted with the scars of smallpox) - and keen piercing eyes. “We’ll begin with you.” “All right,” responded the pirate leader, “I’m Number One.” He had been swearing in English and Chinese, one of the Chinese officers said, all the way to the execution ground. He was placed at one end of the square and all the others knelt in a line with him. A few seconds sufficed to put them in order, and then the slaughter began. Lai A Tsat kept looking around at the executioner, while that worthy examined the sword which he had selected; and while he held his long thin neck outstretched he continued to speak, as if he wished the spectators to know he was not afraid.

“YOU MAY KILL ME NOW,”

he said, “but I’ll revive again,” on which Fung San Yau, who was the fourth man in the row, muttered some comment. “Now, don’t you move,” said the executioner as he pulled the pirate’s pigtail out of the way of the sword. The kneeling man said something about each having his own luck, and as he said it the sword came down and “Ko Lo Chai” was no more. The others, most of them very miserable looking wretches, shuddered and gave what seemed to be an unwilling look round. They had not long to wait, for the brawny butcher was getting through his work with great celerity, prefacing each stroke with the warning. “Don’t move,” and accompanying each blow with a vigorous utterance of a Chinese expression which might be rendered into English as “Done for!” When he came to Fung San Yau it was apparent to his experienced eye that that distinguished villain had already, in a figurative sense, “lost his head.” The man of blood and steel swore at him roundly and told him that if he did not keep steady it would be the worse for him. It was the worse for him, for the blade struck him almost in a line with the shoulders and the head did not come off, which was no doubt the reason why there was a rapid convulsive movement of the legs for a few seconds afterwards. The chief executioner, who found the others easier to deal with, handed over the sword to his son, a promising youth of 15, at the twelfth man, and he had no reason to find fault with the youngster’s work. When the end of the line was reached the executioner in chief returned and completed the decapitation of Fung San Yau. The whole affair only occupied a few minutes. - China Mail.

Further reading: “Pirate Outrages: True Stories of Terror on the China Seas”

by Douglas R. G. Sellick – Published 2012

NOTE: There is uncertainty as to the actual date: 17 April or 11 May 1891.

Reviewing the numerous reports, particularly referencing the photograph,

the latter date seems to be correct.

April 1891 predates George Bullough's World Tour by over eighteen months,

and his arriving in China by three years.

*
THE SEIZURE OF SS NAMOA BY PIRATES

At noon on Sunday the 3^rd of December 1890 the SS Namoa, owned by Douglas, Lapraik & Company, commanded by forty-five year old Captain Thomas Guy Pocock, departed Hong Kong on her regular twice a week sailing to Swatow, Amoy and Foochow. On board were several Europeans and “more than 250 (other) passengers” including many Chinese from the province of Fuhkien returning to their native homes after years of working in California “each with his little hoard of hard-earned dollars, gained by frugal toil and self-denial in a distant land.”

SS Namoa

From time to time a number of harmless looking Chinese passengers came up on deck and walked about in a seemingly aimless manner. A few days into the voyage, with “thirty or forty” of the “harmless Chinese” strolling forward and aft of the main deck, lolling near hatchways leading to the officer’s mess, the ladder to the bridge, entrance to the engine room, and saloon doorways, the signal was given take over the vessel. Each man “with a cutlass and two revolvers in hand” had a role to play at his appointed station, for the attack had been planned and carried out with much forethought. With the ship in the hands of the pirates the course was changed to enable the vessel to “rendezvous with their confederates, transfer their booty” to their three getaway sea-going junks.

Meanwhile the pirates ransacked the luggage and heartlessly robbed the returning labourers of “their treasured packets of dollars”. In the process Captain Pocock and at least one passenger, a Mr. Petersen were killed. A Malay passenger was thrown overboard. Third officer Edie along with other crew and passengers were injured. Before abandoning the Namoa there was a heated debate amongst the pirates as whether or not to set fire to the ship. Amazingly and fortunately, being unable to agree, the pirates departed.

After being “put to rights” the vessel returned to Hong Kong where “public indignation was great, and considerable pressure was brought to bear on the Chinese Government to bring the pirates to justice … and make them pay the full penalty of their dastardly deeds ... ... ...”

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EXECUTION AT SHANGHAI (32)

Album XVII * Image 9 * Size: 10½ x 8¼ inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders.

Owing to the limitations of photography at the time, and to cater to an increasingly curious and prurient interest in the West of Chinese life, this photograph is described as being “staged.”

The kneeling victim, stripped to the waist, head bowed, hands bound behind his back,
awaits the fall of the executioner’s sword, watched by a crowd of citizens, all of whom seem
to be looking at the camera. A high official seated on a grey pony oversees the proceedings.

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FORM OF PUNISHMENT

Album XVII * Image 10 * Size: 10 x 8½ inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders.

The Tcha or Cangue consisted of two wooden sections enclosing the offender's neck and locked, details of the crime being pasted on the front along with his or her name.

The Cangue, derived from the Portuguese “canga” meaning yoke,

was heavy and extremely uncomfortable, its weight determined by the magistrate based
on the magnitude of the offence and period for which it had to be worn.

Its size required the wearer to rely on others for food and drink.

Unlike the English pillory or stocks it was not fixed and had to be carried around
for the duration of the sentence, although in the picture above a chain around the
man's neck is secured to the ground.

In this instance the prisoner, led by the chain, has been taken by his guard to a place where

he may be fed by compassionate passers-by or friends. At the same time the prisoner

is exposed to physical and verbal abuse, particularly by idle urchins who crowded the streets in China as elsewhere always ready to insult the fallen.

The Great Ming Legal Code published in 1397 specified the Cangue should be made

from seasoned wood and weigh 25, 20 or 15 jin, roughly equivalent to 12½, 10 or
7½ kgs. (28, 22 or 17-lbs.) depending on the nature of the crime.

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MODES OF PUNISHMENT

Album XVII * Image 11 * Oval mounted on card overall size: 10½ x 8½ inches

Oval image: 7½ x 6 inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders - c.1870

The Cangue came in many forms, all were designed to inflict pain and expose the

wearer to humiliation.

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MODE OF PUNISHING PRISONERS

Album XVII * Image 12 * Detail from full size: 10½ x 8½ inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders.

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CHINESE PLOUGH

Album XVII * Image 13 * Size 10½ x 8¼ inches

Various types of oxen have been domesticated in the area of what is now modern China for thousands of years, used for agriculture, transportation, for food, and other purposes.

These powerful creatures have had a significant roles in turning and tilling the soil with the plow, hauling loads by pulling an oxcart, turning millstones and waterwheels, and in the case of the yak, being saddled and ridden by humans or carrying loads mounted on their backs.

The water buffalo also is ridden, though in a more bareback style. Sometimes the animals

are raced for sport, or otherwise used for entertainment. The use of ox dung had an important role both as a fertiliser and as fuel. Horns, bones, and hides of oxen have been employed for many purposes, the former to make spoons and cups and hides for leather.

Extract from: Wikipedia

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CHINESE STREET CARRIAGE

Album XVII * Image 14 * Overall mounted size 10 x 8½ inches

Oval image 7½ x 6 inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders.

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COTTON WORKER (No. 33)

Album XVII * Image 15 * Size 10½ x 8½ inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders.

BELOW: same image hand-coloured -

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COTTON WORKERS (No. 38)

Album XVII * Image 16 * Size 10½ x 8½ inches

Original photograph attributed to William Saunders.

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Not identified.

Album XVII * Image 17 * Detail from full size 10½ x 8½ inches

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GREAT WALL OF CHINA (No. 18)

Album XVII * Image 18 * Detail from full size 10½ x 8½ inches

Size: Card mount 10½ x 8½ * Rounded corner photograph 9½ x 6¼ inches.

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R.M.S. EMPRESS OF JAPAN
(H.M. Armed Cruiser)

Album XVII * Image 19 * Detail from full size 10½ x 8½ inches

Embossed on photograph: (bottom left) SPYSIGHT * (bottom right) ELDAM IS ROTH

Launched in December 1892 by Lady Alice Maud Stanley, Countess of Derby,

RMS Empress of Japan was one of three sister ships, the others being Empress of India

and Empress of China, built by Naval Construction & Armaments Co.,

(later part of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering) at Barrow-in-Furness, England.

Designed to carry 770 passengers (120 first class, 50 second class and 600 steerage),

the 5,905 ton, twin-funneled ocean liner was owned by Canadian Pacific Railway,
her home port being Quebec City, Canada.

465 feet in length, with a beam of 51 feet and draft of 35 feet, the clipper bowed ship,

driven by reciprocating engines via twin propellers, giving an average speed

of sixteen knots won her the Blue Riband for making the Trans-Pacific crossing in 1897,

a record the Empress held for twenty years.

Commissioned into the Royal Navy as an armed auxiliary cruiser in the First World War

the ship became HMS Empress of Japan.

After the war the Empress returned to her former trans-Pacific service to Yokohama in the

whole of which she made three hundred and fifteen crossings, covering over two million nautical miles, during which she became known as “Queen of the Pacific”.

The Empress of Japan was scrapped in 1926.

Her original dragon figure head is preserved in the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

George W. Randall.