A travel and ethnographic account of Weihaiwei, the northern Chinese port territory then under British administration, written by an official who served there. Johnston describes the district's history, folk beliefs, customs and the daily life of its people. The book offers a closely observed portrait of rural China at the beginning of the twentieth century.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
LION AND DRAGON IN NORTHERN CHINA
VIEW FROM THE HUA
(Showing the interior of the walled city, the islan
LION AND DRAGON IN NORTHERN CHINA
BY R. F. JOHNSTON, M.A. (OΎLjƿ.), F.R.G.S.
DISTRICT OFFICER AND MAGISTRATE, WEIHAIWEI
FORMERLY PRIVATE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNOR OF HONGKONG, ETC.
AUTHOR OF "FROM PEKING TO MANDALAY"
WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS
NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY
1910
PRINTED BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
LONDON AND AYLESBURY,
ENGLAND.
TO
SƗǡ JAMES HALDANE STEWART LOCKHART
K.C.M.G., COMMISSIONER OF WEIHAIWEI
IN MEMORY OF
TWO MOONLIT NIGHTS AT LUTAO-K'OU
FIVE FROSTY MORNINGS AT PEI-K'OU TEMPLE
AND A HUNDRED BREEZY GALLOPS
OVER THE HILLS AND SANDS OF WEIHAIWEI
PREFACE
The meeting-place of the British Lion and the Chinese Dragon in northern China consists of the port and Territory of Weihaiwei. It is therefore with this district, and the history, folk-lore, religious practices and social customs of its people, that the following pages are largely occupied. But Weihaiwei is in many respects a true miniature of China, and a careful study of native life and character, as they are exhibited in this small district, may perhaps give us a clearer and truer insight into the life and character of the Chinese race than we should gain from any superficial survey of China as a whole. Its present status under the British Crown supplies European observers with a unique opportunity for the close study of sociological and other conditions in rural China. If several chapters of this book seem to be but slightly concerned with the special subject of Weihaiwei, it is because the chief interest of the place to the student lies in the fact
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