Report by Consul-General Hosie on the province of Ssu-̆chúan.

  • Hosie, Alexander, Sir, 1853-1925.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report by Consul-General Hosie on the province of Ssu-̆chúan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    exists may be gauged from the conjectures made as to the population of Ch‘6ngtu, some foreigners who have resided in the capital for years giving 1,000,000, while others unhesitatingly state that 500,000 would account for the whole population inside and outside the wall and leave an ample margin. Since my arrival in ClPengtu 1 have endeavoured to ascertain from the Viceroy the actual population of the city, and his Excellency, who has recently numbered all the houses inside and outside the wall, and has ordered a census to be taken, has as yet been able to supply me with the number of families only. This he has officially given me as 55,058 * It has been the custom in trying to arrive at an estimate of the population of parts of China to assume five members to be the average number of a family, but in a city like Ctdengtu, which is the centre of the official life of the province, and where there are thousands of retired and expectant officials occupying residences, each with its servants and hangers-on practically forming a village in itself, it seems to me that this average might be reckoned more reasonably at eight than at five. On this basis the inhabitants of ClPengtu would number 440,464, and when one considers that there are large open spaces inside the wall, whose circumference is miles, used as vegetable gardens, into which the suburbs could be fitted with ease, I am of opinion that 500,000 should be accepted as the outside estimate of the population of ClPengtu and its suburbs. As regards the population of the whole province, the estimates, as stated above, range from 30,000,000 to 60,000,000 ; but I think that one-half of the total of these two, or 45,000,000, would be a much nearer approximation, and this is the extreme estimate arrived at, in a roundabout way, by the “ Mission Lyonnaise d’Exploration Commerciale en Chine” whose members travelled extensively in SsiiclPuan a few years ago. This large population is due not merely to natural growth but also in a great measure to immigration, and it is difficult, if not impossible, at the present day to get an inhabitant of the province to admit that he is a native of SsiiclPuan. He will say that he belongs to Hupei, Hunan, Shensi, Kiangsi, Chekiang, or even Kuantung, claiming as his province the home of his immigrant ancestor, and in some districts colonies of the descendants of early settlers are found retaining the costumes, manners, customs, and even the dialects of the provinces of their forefathers. In other parts, again, they have so far amalgamated as to have formed a “patois” unknown in any other province of China. I do not mean that their speech is unintelligible, but they have introduced words and expressions requiring explanation to be understood. It is, I think, an established fact that people who emigrate to a new country with ample scope for employment succeed much better than if they had remained at home; they have had the energy to try new fields, and when there is sufficient work to utilize that energy their material prosperity is increased and the country of their adoption is enriched. So it is with SsiichTtan. This province has gathered her workers (some probably unwilling immigrants) from all parts of the Empire : they brought with them the knowledge and skill acquired in their respective provinces; and they found scope for their varied attainments in the natural richness as well as in the poten¬ tialities of their new home. The result is that SsiiclPuan is one of the fairest and richest corners of the Chinese Empire, and I propose to pass in review the varied products and industries which have raised the province to its present eminent position, and point out the great obstacle that retards its natural development. The distribution of the population throughout SsiiclPuan naturally follows the line of soil-fertility, for, as elsewhere in China, the production of foodstuffs is the greatest industry of the province. Indeed, it may be said that SsiiclPuan, owing to its remoteness and to the difficulties and dangers which have to be encountered to reach it, must produce its own food supply, and when, as sometimes happens, climatic conditions are * The following corrected Return has since been supplied to me by the Viceroy Families. Population. Manchu city (x) .. • • • • • • 730 2,777 Chinese city • • • • • • 44,468 235,696 Suburbs • • • • • • 13,670 59,450 Bannermen (*) .. • • • • • • • • 8,500 Total .. • j «* • • • • • 306,423 O Chinese only. (3) Obtained from other sources.