How the World Travels

								

in his chamber or lies on his bed. I do not believe that there ever
existed a man with such sport or enjoyment as he has."
Modern tourists in China cannot see quite such wonderful equipages
as this, but the Emperor's state palanquin, which was still in use
in 1880, was a very gorgeous affair, and it was carried by no less
than sixteen bearers.
China has always been a land of ceremony, and very strict etiquette
is maintained with regard to the conveyances of the mandarins.
Sedan chairs are used, and these vary in colour, decoration, and
number of carriers, according to the rank of the owner. If the
mandarin is of a very high class he is accompanied on his journeys
by a whole retinue of servants. One of these carries a large open
umbrella, a second has a fan attached to a pole, while others bear
tablets on which the insignia of his rank are displayed. It is a
great offence if a man has more coolies in attendance than those to
which he is entitled.


In a wedding procession a beautiful palanquin is used to take the
bride from her parents' house to the home of her future husband.
It is painted red and ornamented with kingfishers' feathers. The
little Chinese lady only travels once in this gorgeous conveyance.
After her marriage she has to be content with an ordinary sedan
chair, the curtains of which are always tightly drawn so that she
can neither see nor be seen as she is carried through the streets.


When an important mandarin travels everyone makes way for him and
his imposing retinue, but with those of lower rank this is not
the case, and it is one of the duties of his bearers to keep up
a constant succession of loud shouts and commands such as "Mind
your back!" "Move to the right!" "Get out of the way!" As may
be imagined the streets of a Chinese town are very noisy, for
they are narrow and crowded with a motley throng of people, among
whom are porters with heavy packs on their shoulders, itinerant
merchants carrying their wares in baskets slung on long poles,
beggars, and children of all sizes and ages.


Besides these private sedan chairs there are others which may be
hired. These are fairly comfortable, being provided with cushions
and having a narrow shelf on either side on which the passenger
can rest his arms. In country districts, however, the traveller has
to be content with a simpler conveyance, consisting of a roughly
made bamboo chair attached to long poles.


Sometimes much larger palanquins are seen. These will hold several
people and are carried by two mules or ponies.
In China, rickshaws, which are wheeled chairs drawn by one or
more coolies, are also used, their name coming from the Chinese
word jin-li-che, which means "man-power-carriage." These little
vehicles are convenient, but in many cities the streets are so