MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF THE TARTARS AND CHINESE UPON EACH OTHER — A CHINESE BATTLE — DASH AND COURAGE OF TARTAR HORSEMEN — TARTAR GUNNERS — “CATCHING A TARTAR” — THE BOW, AND MODE OF STRINGING IT — SYSTEMATIC TRAINING OF THE ARCHER — THE TARTAR ARROW — ATHLETIC EXERCISES — BLOODLESS CONQUEST OF THE TARTARS BY THE CHINESE.

We now proceed to the more civilized portions of the vast Mongolian race, namely the Tartars, the Chinese, and the Japanese. It will of course be impossible to give even the briefest account of the numerous nations which have been called Tartars, and we will therefore confine ourselves to the Mantchu Tartars, who have exercised so remarkable an influence on the empire of China.

It has been well said, that when a strong people invade and conquer the territory of a weaker, their conquest has a double effect. The victors impose certain habits and modes of life upon the vanquished, and, in so doing, generally strengthen them in those points where they are weak. But, in return, the vanquished exert an influence upon their conquerors which has precisely the opposite effect, and tends to diminish rather than to increase their strength. So it has been with the Tartars and the Chinese, whose history during the last few centuries has been most instructive to the ethnologist,—I should rather say, to the anthropologist.

Just as in one family we invariably find that there are members of very different powers, and that the possessor of the stronger intellect invariably obtains dominion over the others, so it has been with the two great divisions of the Asiatic Mongols. The Tartar is in many points superior to the Chinese, and, as a rule, is easily distinguished even by his appearance. He possesses more decided features, is more alert in his movements, and certainly possesses more courage. The Chinese will fight wonderfully well behind walls, or on board ship, and even in the field display great courage of a quiet nature if they are led by European officers. But, when left to themselves, they are not good soldiers in the field, unless opposed to enemies much inferior. Mr. Scarth, who had the opportunity of witnessing a battle, describes it as an absolute farce.

“One day, when a great many soldiers were out, I saw more of the contest than was pleasant. Having got into the line of fire, I was forced to take shelter behind a grave, the bullets striking the grave from each side every second. Why they came my way it was difficult to discover, for they ought to have passed on the other side of a creek, about twenty yards distant, to the people they were intended for; but to see the dodging of the soldiers, then of the rebels, each trying to evade the other, was almost amusing.

“One fellow, ready primed and loaded, would rush up the side of a grave-hillock, drop his matchlock over the top, and, without taking aim, blaze away. There is no ramrod required for the shot they use; the bullet, or bar of iron, is merely dropped in loose upon the powder.

“There was a fine scene on an occasion when the Shanghai rebels made a sortie. One of the men was cut off by an imperial skirmisher, who had his piece loaded. The rebel had no time to charge his; so he ran round and round a grave, which was high enough to keep his enemy from shooting him when on the opposite side. Hare hunting was nothing to it. Red-cap described hosts of circles, and the royalist was fast getting blown, when the gods took pity on his wind, for, by some unlucky chance, the rebel tripped and fell. The soldier was at him in a moment, and, to make sure of his prize, put the muzzle of his matchlock close to Red-cap’s head, fired, and took to his heels as fast as he could go. It is difficult to say who was most astonished, when Mr. Red-cap did exactly the same! The bullet that dropped down readily on the powder fell out as easily when the barrel was depressed. The rebel got off with a good singeing of his long hair.”

The Tartars, however, are very different men in battle, as was frequently proved during our wars in China; and though they were comparatively ignorant of the art of war, and were furnished with weapons that were mere toys in comparison with the arms to which they were opposed, they showed themselves to be really formidable antagonists. As irregular cavalry, they displayed an amount of dash and courage which would make them most valuable allies, could they be trained by European officers. They boldly charged in the face of field-batteries of Armstrong guns, and, though the shells burst among them with murderous precision, they came on in the most gallant manner.

Indeed, a British officer, who was opposed to them, said that scarcely any regular cavalry would have advanced in the face of such a fire, delivered from fifteen breech-loading guns. Of course, when they did close, the superior discipline of their opponents prevailed against them, and the Sikh cavalry of Probyn and Fane at once routed their undisciplined ranks. But, had they been drilled and commanded by such men as those who led the Sikh cavalry against them, the issue of the fight might have been very different.

They served their guns with dauntless courage, and allowed themselves to be cut to pieces by the Armstrong shell rather than leave them. A single man would sometimes be seen working a gun by himself after his comrades had been killed, and he expected the same fate every moment; and it therefore happened, that of the slain in that war by far the greatest number were Tartars. They are better horsemen than the Chinese, and both themselves and their steeds are hardy, active, and capable of existing on very little food. One of their peculiarities is the method in which they carry the sword. Instead of hanging it to the waist, and letting it bang against the horse’s side, they pass it under the saddle-flap, where it is held tight by the pressure of the leg. They thus avoid the jingle and swing of the European sabre, and moreover are free from the drag of a heavy weapon upon the waist of the rider.

Of the courage displayed by the Tartars under adverse circumstances, a curious instance is given by Mr. M’Ghee. After one of the charges of Probyn’s horse, the Tartar cavalry, in spite of their skill in evading the thrust of a lance or the stroke of a sword, had suffered severe loss, and many were stretched on the ground. Among them was the body of a very powerful man, who had carried a handsome lance. As Mr. M’Ghee found himself without arms, in a rather dangerous position, he thought he would arm himself with the lance, and began to dismount.

As he took his foot from the stirrup, the supposed dead man sprang to his feet, lance in hand, and showed fight. An officer just then rode to the rescue with his revolver, and shot the Tartar in the back. The man fell, but rose again, charged the officer with his lance, unhorsed him, and made off, but was killed by a lance thrust from a Sikh horseman. The fact was, his horse had been killed in battle, and he meant to feign death until he could find an opportunity of slipping away. Even the wounded men, knowing nothing of the amenities of civilized war, and expecting no quarter, used to fire at the enemy when they lay writhing with pain on the ground.

These Tartar soldiers are commanded by a general belonging to their own people, and his immediate subordinate is almost invariably a Tartar also. The office of Tartar general is one of great importance, because, as the Emperor is always of a Tartar family, it is thought that the safety of his person and dynasty ought to be confided not to a Chinese, but to a Tartar. The lieutenant-general, who serves under him, though his post is perhaps the least lucrative in the Imperial household, is glad to hold the appointment, because he is usually selected to succeed to the generalship.

The chief weapons of these soldiers are the bow and the spear, the sword and fire-arms playing a comparatively subordinate part. Being good riders, they naturally take to the spear, the true weapon of a horseman, and are drilled in the various modes of delivering a thrust, and of avoiding one, the latter feat being performed with a dexterity almost equalling that of a Camanchee Indian. Although they carry fire-arms with them, they really place little dependence on the heavy, clumsy weapons which they use, that require two men to fire them, and generally knock down the firer by the recoil. Nor do they care very much for the improved fire-arms of Europeans, for, as one warrior said, guns get out of order, spears and swords do not.

The bow of the Tartar (which has spread throughout all China) is much on the principle of the reversed bows which have already been described, though the curve is not so continuous. The bow is nearly straight for the greater part of its length, and then takes an abrupt curve within a foot or so of each end. One of these bows, in my collection, is nearly six feet in length, and measures two inches in width. About seven inches from each end, a broad piece of bone nearly an inch in length is fixed to the bow, so that the string passes over it, and does not strike against the wood.

The strength of these bows is enormous, varying, according to our mode of reckoning, from sixty to ninety pounds. The weapon is strung in manner somewhat resembling that which has already been described in connection with Indian bows. It must be done in a moment, or not at all, and the only method of doing so is, by placing it behind the right thigh and in front of the left, and then bending it with a sudden stoop of the body, at the same time slipping the loop of the string into its notch. My own weapon is so powerful that I can scarcely make any impression upon it, though I have used my best efforts.

The soldiers undergo a vast amount of practice in the use of this weapon, of which they are as proud as were the English archers of their long-bow and cloth-yard arrow. They have a saying, that the first and most important duty of a soldier is to be a good archer, and that a man ought even to sleep with a bow in his hands. In order to instruct them in the proper attitude of an archer, they have invented a simple piece of machinery, by means of which the soldier undergoes a vast amount of “position drill,” so that he may learn to keep his body straight and firm, his shoulders immovable, and his hands in the right position.

From a beam or branch are suspended two rings, which can be moved up and down, to suit the height of the learner. The young archer places his hands in the rings as far as the wrists, and then goes through the various movements of the weapon. When he can satisfy his instructor, a bow is placed in his hands, and he then practises the art of drawing the string to its proper tension. Lastly, he has an arrow besides, and shoots it repeatedly. The head of the arrow is blunted, and the target is a piece of stout leather, hung loosely at a little distance, so that it partially yields to the arrow, and allows the missile to fall to the ground.

The arrow corresponds to the bow. One of these missiles in my collection is three feet three inches in length. It is made of some light wood, and is terminated by a flat, spear-shaped head, two inches long and one inch wide. The other end of the arrow is expanded, so as to allow a large “nock” for the reception of the thick string, and is bound with fish-skin as far as the feathers, which are exactly a foot in length. The shaft is extremely slight in comparison with the length of the arrow.

These men train their muscular powers to a great extent, and have several exercises for this purpose. One of them is called Suay-tau, or throwing the weight. They have a nearly square stone, weighing rather more than fifty pounds, and having a handle in a hollow cut in its upper surface.

The men mark out a square on the ground, and the players stand at some distance apart. One of them takes the stone, swings it once or twice, and hurls it in the air toward the next player. It is thrown with such skill that the hollow always comes uppermost, and the stone descends into the hand with a shock that makes the man spin round on his heels. The same movement, however, is utilized to give force to the stone; and so the players pass this heavy weight from one to the other with apparent ease, and with the regularity of a machine. A similar exercise is conducted with a heavy sand-bag.

It may easily be imagined how such men would vanquish in battle the comparatively sluggish Chinese, and how they would impose upon them many of their manners and customs. But, though they succeeded in their conquest, though they changed the dress of the Chinese, though they placed a Tartar monarch on the throne, and though they have been the chief military power in China, they have themselves suffered a far severer, though slower, conquest at the hands of the vanquished.

The Chinese, being essentially a contemplative and intellectual nation, care very little for military ability, so that the lowest civil mandarin feels a thorough contempt for the highest military mandarin, because the active life of the latter precludes him from following up those peculiar studies which can raise a Chinese from the state of a peasant to that of the highest in the land. Especially do the Chinese despise their intellectual capacities, though they may appreciate and utilize their bodily strength and military prowess. “The Tartars,” said a Chinese shopkeeper, “are cows.”

The extraordinary reaction of the vanquished upon their conquerors is admirably put by Mr. Fleming, in his “Travels on Horseback in Mantchu Tartary.”

“By dint of their extraordinary industry, thrifty habits, an unceasing desire to accumulate wealth by any amount of plodding, cunning, or hardship, the Chinaman has wormed himself beyond the Great Wall, built towns and villages, cultivated every rood of land, and is at once the farmer and the trader everywhere. He claims the best part of Mantchuria as his own, and dares even to scandalize the Tartar race in their own capital, though it is barely two centuries since that race filed in long cavalry troops through those gates at Shan-kis-Kwan, and were introduced by an indiscreet Chinese general to the vast empire which they soon conquered and sternly governed.

“Now the Chinese seem the conquerors, for they have not only obtained possession of the land, and converted it into a region thoroughly Chinese, but they have imposed their language, their habits and customs, and every trait belonging to them, on those of the original occupants who choose to mix with them, and ousted out every grim old banner-man who would not condescend to shopkeeping, or handling the spade or plough.

“There is not the most trifling Mantchu word to designate town, hamlet, mountain, or river, in use among the people nowadays, and anything that might at all tell of the character and power of the original proprietors is entirely effaced. If the Mantchus obtained possession of the Dragon Throne at Pekin, partly by force of arms in military prowess, and partly by perfidy, aided by rebellions among the Chinese themselves; if they compelled the hundreds of millions over whom they found cause to rule to alter their dress, wear tails, and perhaps smoke tobacco,—the people thus subjugated have made ample retaliation by wiping out every trace of their invaders in their own country, and leaving the existence of the usurpers all but traditionary in the metropolis where, two hundred years ago, they held their court, and where one of their kings boldly vowed vengeance for seven great grievances that he imagined had been brought on him by the Chinese Emperor.

“Nothing prevents the invasion of the Corea by these wonderful Chinese but the high palisade that keeps them within the limits of Mantchuria. For, if once they got a footing in that country, the Coreans would suffer the same fate as the Mantchus, and there is no telling when these sons of Ham would stop in their bloodless aggrandizement and territorial acquisitiveness.”