THE CHINESE REPOSITORY. VOL. IV. MARCH, 1836.- No. 11. ART. I. Notices of Modern China: Rebellions among the Mohammedans in Turkestan, among the Meaoutsze and other mountaineers both in China Proper and on the frontiers of the empire. By R. I. THE first notice that we find in the Peking gazette of the insurrection in Turkestan was on the 26th December, 1826. The account of the capture of the rebel chief reached Peking in March 1828. This rebellion excited unusual alarm throughout the empire, from an expectation that the rebels, who were Mohammedans, would be joined by the people of the same persuasion beyond the frontiers, which proved to be the case. The Booriats of Andijan (Kokan), who had supported the rebel chief, made an irruption into Cashgar in 1830, after his death, but were repulsed by the Chinese, which event terminated the insurrection.* This was the most alarming occurrence which has happened during the reign of the present emperor; but there have been frequent minor insurrections in other parts of the empire. The most troublesome of the latter order have been occasioned by the Meaoutsze and other tribes lodged among the mountains in the very heart of the empire, and by the people in the island of Formosa. An interesting account of the reduction of the Meaoutsze of Szechuen by the Chinese in 1775, is given by Pere Amiot in the third volume of Memoires des Chinois;' but we imagine that they were then but imperfectly subdued, and that they remain so at this day, since we find in the Peking gazettes frequent notices of disturbances occasioned by them and their kindred tribes. They have probably been always engaged in plundering the inhabitants around them, for we find an especial clause in the Penal Code to prevent their depredations; in all cases of murder, committed by the people called Canton Register, Dec. 18th, 1830. 62 VOL. IV. NO. XI. * Meaoutsze, for the sake of obtaining booty, all the parties to the crime shall suffer death by being beheaded immediately after conviction." In this, as in other respects, they resemble the Bheels, Meenas, and other hill tribes in India; and like them they are probably either the aborigines of the country, or people driven by oppression from the plains below, at a very early period of Chinese history. There are also certain roving tribes of Eleuths on the borders of Szechuen; and others around the lake of Kokonor on the borders of Shense, who occasionally make irruptions into China Proper, and whose depredations are not always to be distinguished from those of the Meaoutsze. In 1817,† some of these tribes descended from the mountains into the province of Szechuen, plundered and carried off the inhabitants to a degree which induced the governor of the province to put the troops in motion against them. According to his own account, he brought back several hundred captives; but the expense attending the expedition was so great that the emperor would not sanction it, but made the governor himself responsible for it, which so disconcerted him that he hanged himself. The invasion was partly occasioned perhaps by his own mismanagement, for we find his successor paying great attention to the improvement of the province in 1819, rebuilding the walls of towns, &c. In 1817, there was an insurrection in the neighboring province of Yunnan;§ and again in 1818, when the rebels, who seemed to have been organized, threatened the capital of the province in which the commandant shut himself up. The governor brought a force, however, to his rescue, routed the rebels who took refuge with the foreign tribes beyond the frontier, and captured their leader. The governor issued a proclamation at the same time, promising the foreign tribes protection in case of their discountenancing the rebels, and threatening them with extermination if they protected them. This had its effect probably, for we hear no more of them until two years afterwards, when a warfare commenced with a race of mountaineers called Lolo.¶ These people are described as "tall in stature, having deep-set eyes, and high hooked noses, flat faces and white teeth, shaving the beard, and wearing whiskers. They are expert in the manufacture of strong armor, sharp swords, good lances and bows. They breed also excellent horses, are fond of shooting, hunting, and the practice of the spear. Their soldiers are the most renowned of all the barbarian tribes. This is probably one of the tribes of Shans which live between the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Szechuen and the British territory in Assam. We have no informatiou as to the occasion of the war; but on receipt of the intelligence, an express, traveling six hundred le (about 170 miles) daily, was dispatched to the commander-in-chief in Szechuen; who was appointed imperial commissioner; while the governors and generals of the neighboring provinces, were to hasten to the scene of action. We have no particulars of the warfare; but it terminated quickly, for shortly afterwards we find a list of the meritorious officers and men engaged in it, which had been presented to the emperor for promotions, returned, because it was longer thau the "short war and speedy victory called for."* We gather also that fire arms of some kind were required, since a tumbrel blew up after the victory and killed forty-five men and wounded nineteen,-the only return of casualties which we find recorded. The Peking gazettes notice another predatory inroad upon the western frontier of Yunnan in 1826,† which is attributed to the neglect of the officers of government, who were accordingly punished. The borderers on the Burinan side made an irruption the following year, but were driven back by the military, and forty-four prisoners captured. We read of another revolt in 1828;§ the leader of which had an imperial seal engraved, and published manifestoes on the frontier and in Cochinchina, to invite people to his standard; but it was quickly suppressed and the leader escaped into Cochinchina. The governor reported that he had quelled another insurrection in 1830.|| We find no further mention of disturbances in this province until 1834,¶ when the Peking gazettes contain cursory notices of affrays in which the military were employed on the frontiers both of Szechuen and Yunuan; the Burmans were mentioned in connection with the latter province. To return to Szechuen. In 1819, the emperor issued special orders respecting Lingan foo, which from its nearness to the outer settlements had been the scene of great confusion. His majesty says:* "The districts in which the foreigners dwell, being very woody, they afford an easy shelter for banditti; the foreigners are therefore permitted to cut down the trees for firewood, for their daily use, and the officers are not allowed privately to hinder them.' With respect to requiring the foreigners to deliver up the guns and weapons in their possession, his majesty observes: The foreigners provide these guns and weapons either for hunting, or self-defense against the attacks of robbers; if they are required indiscriminately to deliver up all in their possession, they will have nothing wherewith to guard their persons; it is necessary therefore that the officers and heads should make diligent inquiry as to the extent to which it is necessary to deliver up the guns and weapons, and pay the price for them; but in requiring the delivery, they must by no means use this as a pretence for threatening the people and extorting money from them. The officers and heads are strictly prohibited from compelling the people to work without pay, and from injuring them in any way; natives of China are also forbidden to enter into the districts of the foreigners, as many troubles have arisen from vicious Chinese going there, and scheming to deprive the foreigners of their property: * Indo. Gleaner, April, 1822, p. 314. Mal. Observer, March 27th, 1827. Canton Register, Sept. 6th, 1830. Indo. Gleaner, Jan. 1820, p. 233. Mal. Observer, Dec. 19th, 1826. Canton Register, Jan. 17th, 1829. ¶ Canton Register, May 20th, 1834. merchants, in order to travel, must obtain a pass, and be restricted to a certain time, which if they exceed, they are to be punished.' His majesty directs that when robberies take place among the foreigners, information be immediately given to the proper officers, and the case be instantly tried, in default of which the constables and magistrates are to be punished. On the subject of instructing the foreigners, in order to improve their morals, the emperor says, 'The manuers of the foreigners are in general hasty and fierce, but there are soine men of learning among them; let the rulers in those parts therefore issue proclamations admonishing the people, and let them enjoin the inferior officers to make it more fully known, in order that the people may rest contented in their stations, and cherish a fear of the laws; when this practice has been followed a little time, their manners will certainly be corrected and improved.' At the close of the paper, his majesty admonishes the governor and those under him vigorously to carry into effect the things enjoined above, and to adhere to them long, in order to tranquillize the foreigners and the people dwelling on the border." We find the governor of that province remonstrating in 1821,* against a proposed reduction of his military forces, which then amounted to 33,973 men, who seemed to find ample occupation. There was an irruption on this frontier in 1827,† by some foreign tribes who carried off the natives to sell them as slaves. A foreign tribe called Tsingke, within the province, revolted in 1833, ‡ and occasioned a large expenditure of treasure to quell it. On another occasion we find the envoy, bearing tribute from the grand lama of Tibet to the emperor, wounded and plundered by the wild tribes on the borders of Szechuen;§ and also an insurrection of the tribes within the province. In 1832, one of these tribes, called Meënpah, plundered and burut twenty-five different places in the space of two months. These barbarous tribes, says the Peking gazette, have combined together for many years to cause confusion; a crime not to be forgiven. This time, the governor assembled troops, entered the country, attacked the rebels and gained several successive victories. From the 28th and 29th days of the second moon to the 19th of the third moon, they were burning the nests of the thieves: many of the barbarous clans were slaughtered and all the leaders taken. The tribes on the frontier further to the northward appear equally troublesome. A Tartar chief was rewarded with a peacock's feather in 1826,**for assisting the officers of government to destroy certain rebels of the Kinghe tribe, on the banks of the Kaeho, beyond the provinces of Kansuh and Shense. Some of the tribes to the southward of the Yellow river in Shense,tt crossed that river on the ice five times in the following year, and plundered the Mongol pastoral tribes, who live about the lake of Kokonor. The authorities at Sening sent 3000 ** Indo. Gleaner, Oct. 1821, p. 226. t Mal. Observer, Sept. 9th, 1828. Chinese Repository, vol. 4, p. 200. ¶Canton Register, June 30th, 1835. tt Mal. Observer, Ap. 10th, 1827. regular troops after them, who pursued the freebooters into their own fastnesses, and obliged them to restore 30,150 head of cattle, horses, and sheep, and to give up seventeen of the offenders who were carried to Sening and beheaded, and their heads suspended in cages in the market-place. A native of Kansuh province, a plebeian, presented a petition to the emperor in 1831, to complain of the conduct of Changling, one of the present ministers of China, and one of his colleagues, for mismanagement in their administration of the affairs of the western frontier. Speaking of the pastoral tribes about the lake Kokonor, he says, that they formerly bought tea and corn from the Chinese, who were allowed a free commercial intercourse with them; but that mismanagement had interdicted that trade, and cut off the means of subsistence of the people. He then speaks of a tribe of people near the source of the Yellow river, called "black foreigners," who live solely by plunder. "So long ago as thirty years," continues the petitioner, "these black foreigners created a disturbance, and Changling was sent against them, who instead of awing them by his military power, suffered them to go unpunished, and so left a heritage of calamity to his successors, and the people. In the 21st year of the late reign, a Chinese of the name of Chang was plundered of more than a thousand sheep by these people. A military officer caught some of them and brought them to Changling, who instead of punishing them, reprimanded the officer. Since then, the black foreigners have been worse than before; and for the last twenty years, murder and rapine have destroyed one half of the inhabitants in the neighborhood of the lake. No one dares to make complaint against the black foreigners, who to this day denominate Changling their benefactor." It is scarcely necessary to say that the poor man was punished for obtruding his opinions on government; but they are probably true, as regards the plunder, notwithstanding. It was the same people, perhaps, who made inroads in the Chinese territory, in the winter of 1832--33,‡ to steal the cattle of the inhabitants, but were repulsed by the military. We may form an idea of the occupation of the military in defending the frontier and quelling insurrections within it, since the Chinese have no other kinds of warfare, from the petition of a veteran general in his 62d year,§ who requested permission in 1827 to retire on full pay. He stated that he had been engaged in four wars; had fought one hundred and eighty-five battles; killed twenty-five rebels; taken three prisoners, and been once wounded. Another who was allowed to retire in 1833,|| had been in forty-eight battles, killed eight rebels, and been once wounded. The hill tribes within the provinces, however, appear to occasion more employment for the military, then those scattered along the frontier. An account of these tribes in the Canton Register,¶ * Mal. Observer, Ap. 8th, 1829. + Canton Register. Oct. 1st, 1831. Mal. Observer, Ap. 10th, 1827. Canton Register. Dec. 12th, 1829 |