DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIVES 757 98 touch weighing 1 K'up'ing or Treasury-scale tael or ounce. This decree was cancelled by a further decree of May 25, 1910, establishing the silver dollar (yuan) of 90 touch and weighing 72 Treasury-weight tael as the unit of currency. The touch and weight of the silver subsidiary coins (50c., 20c., 25c., and 10c.) was also definitely specified, while provision was made for further subsidiary coins (5c. nickel, 2c., lc., c., and c. copper) of touch and weight to be laid down later. The minting of these silver coins has begun, but very few are as yet in circulation. By the law of May, 1910, the several mints have been brought under the Central Government, and are no longer practically private ventures of provincial governors. All coins are now minted at the Imperial Mint in Tientsin and at branch mints in Hankow, Chengtu and Mukden. The K'up'ing tael weighs 575 642039 grains, somewhat less than the Haikwan tael which weighs 581 47 grains. A decree for uniform weights and measures was issued Oct. 9, 1907, whereby the K'up'ing or Treasury scale was made the standard weight. In 1918 a gold currency scheme was promulgated, but owing to foreign opposition it has been postponed, if not abandoned. The In the tariff settled by treaty between Great Britain and China, the Chih of 14 English inches has been adopted as the legal standard. standards of weight and length vary all over the Empire, the Chih, for example, ranging from 9 to 16 English inches, and the Chang ( = 10 Chih) in proportion; but at the treaty ports the use of the foreign treaty standard of Chih and Chang is becoming common. Diplomatic Representatives. 1. OF CHINA IN GREAT BRITAIN. Envoy and Minister.-Sao-Ke Alfred Sze. Appointed June 19th, 1914. Councillor of Legation.-Sir John M'Leavy Brown, C. M.G. First Secretary.-Tsung-Yee Lo. Second Secretary. -Hsiaochang Sze-Ping. Third Secretaries.-Lao Yu-Cheng and Tsin-Teheng Shen Songyu. Attachés.-Tsin Tsung Chang, Wei-Cheng Chen, Lien-Ven Pan, and Lao Wei-Shiu. Naval Attaché.-Commander Chen Shao-Kwan, D.S.O. 2. OF GREAT BRITAIN IN CHINA. Envoy and Minister.-The Rt. Hon. Sir John Jordan, G.C.I.E., K.C. B., K. C.M.G. Appointed October 26, 1906. Counsellor of Legation.-Beilby F. Alston, C. B. First Secretary.-Miles W. Lampson, M.V.O. Second Secretary.-Sir Somerville Head, Bart. Naval Attaché. --Commander Hutton, R. N. Military Attaché-Lt.-Colonel D. S. Robertson. Chinese Secretary.-S. Barton, C. M. G. Commercial Attaché.-A. Rose, C.I.E. Judge-Sir H. W. de Sausmarez (at Shanghai). There are British Consular representatives at Peking, Amoy, Canton (C.G.), Changsha, Chefoo, Cheng-tu (C.G.), Chinkiang, Chung-king, Foochow, Hang-chow, Hankow (C.G.), Harbin, Ichang, Kiukiang, Kiungchow, Mukden (C.G.), Newchwang, Nanking, Pakhoi, Shanghai (C.G.), Swatow, Teng-Yueh, Tien-tsin (C. G.), Wuchow, Wuhu, Yunnan-fu (C.G.). Chinese Outer Territories. Manchuria, lying between the province of Chihli and the Amur river, and extending from the Hingan mountains eastwards to Korea and the Ussuri river, has an area of about 363,610 square miles and a population probably of about 20,000,000, but variously estimated at from 5,750.000 to 29,400,000. It consists of 3 provinces, Sheng-King or Feng-tien (area, 56,000 sq. miles; pop. 10,312,241), capital Mukden; Kirin (105,000 sq. miles; pop. 6,000,000), capital Kirin; and Heilung-chiang or the Amur province (203,000 sq. miles: pop. 1,500,000) with Tsitsihar (population 30,000) for its capital. The population given above for Fengtien provinces is from an official Chinese statement of November, 1908, which also gives the agricultural population as, 2,520,145, and the cultivated area as 4,333,333 acres, but these figures must be taken with reserve. The chief towns are Mukden, the capital, with about 158,132 inhabitants; Newchwang (50,000) standing about 30 miles up the Liao river, at the mouth of which is the port of Ying-tse (60,000) often called Newchwang. Besides Newchwang, Mukden, An-tung, Tatung-kau, Tiehling, (28,492) Tungchiangtzu, (7,299) and Fakumen, (19,432) are open to commerce. Other important towns are Hsin-min-fu (20,000), Liao-yang (40,000), Feng-hwang-cheng (25,000), and Taonanfu, a town rapidly risen to importance, on the border of Eastern Mongolia. In Kirin province is the town of Chang-chun (Kwangchengtze), with 80,000 inhabitants. It is proposed to establish a university in Manchuria. There is no longer a Manchu population in Manchuria. A few scattered communities alone remain. Within quite recent years Manchuria has been colonised by Chinese from the Northern Provinces of China and the immigration still continues by road and sea. Owing to the development of the Soya Bean industry and the improved railway facilities, Manchuria has grown more rapidly in wealth than any other part of China. Its soil is one of the richest in the world. As cultivation has extended, the climate CHINESE OUTER TERRITORIES 759 has become more equable, and warmth remains longer in the soil. Millet, beans, wheat, and rice are the principal crops. The Russian lease of Port Arthur and Talien-wan, and the southern extremity of the Liao-tung peninsula and the South Manchurian Railway were transferred to Japan by the Portsmouth Peace Conference, September 5, 1905. On December 22, 1905, China gave official recognition to this transfer and granted Japan the right to extend the railway from Mukden to Antung at the mouth of the Yalu river, where it connects with the Korean railway. In 1912 a branch line (78 miles) from Changchun, the northern terminus of the Japanese South Manchurian Railway to Kirin, constructed by joint Japanese and Chinese enterprise, was opened to traffic. On August 1, 1917, the whole of the railway system of Korea (some 1000 miles in length) passed under the management of the South Manchurian Railway giving the latter a through line under its own management from Fusan, the Korean port nearest Japan, to Changchun, where connection with the railway system to Harbin and thence to Petrograd is effected. The Manchurian Railways extend from Shan-hai-kwan at the Great Wall northwards to Mukden (via Hsinminfu or by an alternative route via Newchwang) and thence to Changchun and Harbin. From Mukden southwards, the railway extends to Port Arthur and Dalny, with a branch to the Fushun collieries. At Harbin, on the Sungari River, the South Manchuria system connects with the Trans-Manchurian line, which running for 960 miles through Manchuria connects Vladivostock with Trans-Baikalia. There is a branch to Tsitsihar, and connection with Blagovestchensk is contemplated. In 1917, the imports of Manchuria amounted to 40,2457., and the exports to 2,247,5297. Tibet, extending from the Pamir region eastwards between the Himalayan and Kwen-lun mountains to the frontiers of China, has an area of 463,200 square miles with a population estimated at between 1,500,000 and 6,000,000. Probably 2,000,000 is near the mark. The only census ever taken was by the Chinese in 1737 and showed a population of 316,300 lamas (monks) and 635,950 laity. Lhasa, the capital, has from 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. The country being bleak and mountainous and strangers having been jealously excluded, wide regions are still unexplored. Chinese authority was in the past represented by two Ambans who had charge, respectively, of foreign and military affairs. There were three Chinese commandants of troops at Lhasa, Shigatse, and Dingri where the permanent military force of about 4,600, provided by China, were mostly quartered. There were a few other Chinese officials, but the civil and religious administration of the country was left almost entirely to Tibetans. The head of the government is the Dalai Lama, who resides at the Po-ta-la (or palace) near Lhasa. He acts through a minister or regent appointed from among the chief Tibetan Lamas and assisted by five ministers. Early in 1908 the territory of Western Ssuchüan and the adjoining territory of Eastern Tibet were united into a new province, Hsi-Kan, with Batang, re-named Baanfu, as capital. The prevailing religion is Lamaism, a corrupt form of Buddhism, but along with it there exists the Bon, or Shamanistic, faith. In some places agriculture is carried on, barley and other cereals as well as pulse and vegetables being grown. In some favoured regions fruits, including peaches and even grapes, are produced. In other places the pursuits are pastoral, the domestic animals being sheep and yak (often crossed with Indian cattle), while in some regions there are buffaloes, pigs, and camels. Wool-spinning, weaving, and knitting are common, and there are many hands skilful in making images and other decorations for religious edifices. The chief minerals worked are gold, borax, and salt. There is a large trade with China and considerable traffic across the Indian frontier. The trade between India and Tibet has to be carried through lofty passes between 14,000 and 18,000 feet high, most of which are practically impassable during seasons of heavy rain and snow. Sheep and also crosses between yaks and ordinary cattle are used as beasts of burden. The most important route into Tibet from India is from Siliguri, near Darjeeling in northern Bengal, and across the small Frontier State of Sikkim to Gyantse and Yatung in Tibet, the two leading trade marts authorised by the existing Convention. The other chief means of access to Tibet are from Almora in the northern part of the United Provinces, and from Simla over the SimlaTibet road to Gartok in western Tibet, which is at about 14,200 feet elevation above the sea. From Almora to Gartok the direction is almost due north, and from Simla to Gartok is almost due east. The trade between India and Tibet was as follows: 1 Mainly raw wool (226,000l. in 1916-17). 2 Largely cotton piece goods (30,000 in 1916–17). For the removal of hindrances to the Indian trade a treaty was made with China (as suzerain of Tibet) in 1890, supplemented by a second treaty in 1893, but the hindrances still remained. Consequently, in 1904, the Indian Government sent a mission with an escort to arrange matters directly with the Tibetan Government. The mission met with a good deal of armed opposition, but at length, on September 7, a convention was executed at Lhasa. The convention provides for the re-erection of boundary stones (alluding to former pastoral disputes) on the Sikkim frontier; for marts at Yatung, Gyangtze, and Gartok for Tibetan and British merchants: for the demolition of forts on the trade routes; for a Tibetan commissioner to confer with British officials for the alteration of the objectionable features of the treaty of 1893; for the settlement of an equitable customs tariff; for the repair of the passes and the appointment of Tibetan and British officials at the trade marts. China, as the suzerain power of Tibet, paid an indemnity of 2,500,000 rupees (166,6667.), and the evacuation of the Chumbi valley by the British began in February, 1908. Further, no Tibetan territory may be sold, leased or mortgaged to any foreign Power, nor may Tibetan affairs, or Tibetan public works, be subject to foreign management or interference without the consent of the British. The adhesion of China to this convention was secured by an agreement signed at Peking on April 27, 1906. Under the Convention of August 31, 1907, Great Britain and Russia agree not to enter into negotiation with Tibet except through the Chinese Government, nor to send representatives to Lhasa. But this engagement does not affect the provisions of the British-Tibetan convention of September 7, 1904, ratified by China in 1906. Negotiations were begun at Simla in Sept. 1907, for the conclusion of Trade Regulations between India and Tibet, and were brought to a satisfactory conclusion in April, 1908. The Revolution in China in 1911 was not without its effect on the CHINESE OUTER TERRITORIES 761 Tibetans, who expelled the Chinese garrison. Subsequently an expedition was dispatched from Szechuan and Yunnan, but Great Britain protested and caused its withdrawal. In August, 1912, the British Minister in Peking presented a memorandum to the Chinese Government outlining the attitude of the British Government towards the Tibetan question. It held that the re-establishment of Chinese authority would constitute a violation of the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1906. Chinese suzerainty in regard to Tibet was recognised, but Great Britain could not consent to the assertion of Chinese Sovereignty over a state enjoying independent treaty relations with her. Ultimately a Tripartite Conference was opened at Simla in October, 1913. The Tibetan proposals included the independence of Tibet, the repudiation of the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1906, and boundary rectifications; China insisted upon Tibet being an integral of Chinese territory, China engaging not to convert Tibet into a province, and asking Britain to give an undertaking not to annex Tibet, nor any portion of it. Britain suggested the creation of an Inner and Outer Tibet, the former being autonomous, and the latter under Chinese control. China declined to accept this arrangement, and the Conference was dissolved without accomplishing anything. Since then the Chinese Government has more than once offered to renew negotiations with the British Government, but the latter has up to the present declined to do so. Sin-Kiang, or the new Dominion, consists of Chinese Turkestan, Kulja, and Kashgaria and comprises all Chinese dependencies lying between Mongolia on the north and Tibet on the south. It is now regarded as a separate province, its Civil Governor residing at Tihuafu (Urumchi), the capital. Its area is estimated at about 550,340 square miles and population at about 1,200,000. The inhabitants are of various races, known as Turki (Kashgari, Kalmuk, Khirghiz, Taranchi, etc.), mostly Mohammedan and Chinese, who have of recent years greatly increased in numbers. The chief towns are Tihuafu, Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, and Aksu. country is administered under Chinese officials, residing as Tihuafu, the subordinates being usually natives of the country. In regions about the Kashgar and Yarkand rivers the soil is fertile, irrigation is practised, and cereals, fruits and vegetables are grown. Other productions of the country are wool, cotton, and silk. Jade is worked, and in some districts gold is found. The whole territory is yearly increasing in population and prosperity. Mongolia. Emperor -Jebtsun Dampa Hutuktu (Venerable Sacred Saint). The The vast and indefinite tract of country called Mongolia stretches from the Kinghan mountains on the east to the Tarbagatai mountains on the west, being intersected towards its western end by the Altai mountains and the Irtish river. On the north it is bounded by Siberia and on the south by the outer Kan-su and other regions which are united into Sin-Kiang. The area of Mongolia is about 1,367,600 square miles, and its population about 2,600,000. A wide tract in the heart of this region is occupied by the Desert of Gobi which extends south-westwards into Chinese Turkestan. The inhabitants are nomadic Mongols and Kalmucks who range the desert with camels, horses, and sheep. Even in fertile districts they are little given to agriculture. But of recent years there has been a great extension of Chinese immigration, and a large area of what was known as Mongolia, extending from China proper and Manchuria to the Gobi Desert, is now indistinguishable from Chinese territory. Chinese settlers are |