Part 35 (2/2)

The imports from the United States consist mainly of cotton and cotton cloth, coal-oil, and flour. The chief exports to all countries are tea, silk goods, and porcelain ware. Most of those sent to the United States are landed at Seattle or San Francisco. Great Britain, through the port of Hongkong, has a larger trade than any other nation. j.a.pan and the United States have most of the remaining trade.

_Peking_, the capital, is politically, but not commercially, important.

The part occupied by the foreign legations is modern and well kept.

_Tientsin_, the port of Peking, is a larger city, with much more business. _Canton_, the largest city of the empire, and _Hongkong_, are the commercial centres of nearly all the British trade. Most of the American and j.a.panese trade centres at _Shanghai_. _Niuchw.a.n.g_, on the Manchurian frontier, is important mainly as a strategic point. _Macao_, a Portuguese possession, is the open door of Portugal into China.

The inland divisions of the Chinese Empire have but little commercial importance. Musk, wool, and skins are obtained from Tibet, into whose capital, _La.s.sa_, scarcely half-a-dozen Europeans have penetrated. The closed condition is due to the opposition of the Lamas, an order of Buddhist priests. Mongolia is a grazing region that supplies the Chinese border country with goats, sheep, and horses. It also supplies the camels required for the caravan tea-trade to the Russian frontiers.

Eastern Turkestan is mainly a desert. _Kashgar_, the metropolis of the fertile portion, is the exchange market for Chinese and Russian products. Most of the mineral known as jade is obtained there. Manchuria is a grazing and wheat-growing country, exporting food stuffs and ginseng into China. _Harbin_, a Russian trading post, is connected with Peking and with European cities by railway.

[Ill.u.s.tration: j.a.pAN AND KOREA]

=Korea=, formerly a va.s.sal of China, became an independent state after the war between China and j.a.pan, this step being forced by Russia. The country is a natural market for j.a.panese manufactures, and in turn supplies j.a.pan with a considerable amount of food-stuffs. _Chemulpo_ is the chief centre of its commerce.

=j.a.pan.=--j.a.pan is an insular empire, the commercial part of which has about the same lat.i.tude as the Atlantic coast of the United States; the empire extends from Formosa to Kamchatka. It is sometimes called the ”Great Britain of the East,” and the people are also called the ”Yankees of the East.” Structurally, the chain of islands consists of ranges of volcanic mountains. The abundant rains, however, have made many fertile river-valleys, and have fringed most of the islands with coast-plains.

Since the opening of j.a.pan to foreigners the j.a.panese have so thoroughly adapted themselves to western commercial methods that they have become the dominating power in eastern Asia. Their influence has been greatly strengthened by a treaty for defensive purposes with Great Britain. A most excellent army and a modern navy make the alliance a strong one.

The j.a.panese are better adapted to mould the commercial policy of China than any other people.

With a population of more than half that of the United States, occupying an area not larger than the State of California, every square foot of available land must be cultivated. Yet the j.a.panese not only grow most of the food-stuffs they consume, but are able to export rice. There is scant facility for growing beef cattle, but fish very largely takes the place of beef. The cattle grown are used as draught-animals in farm labor. Ordinary dairy products are but little used.

Rice, tea, and silk are the staple crops. Rice is grown on the coast lowlands, the west or rainy side[80] producing the larger crop. The j.a.panese crop is so superior that the larger part is exported, while an inferior Chinese grain is imported for home consumption. The quality of the j.a.panese rice is due to skilful cultivation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NATIVE PLOUGHING RICE-FIELDS]

[Ill.u.s.tration: IRRIGATING A RICE-FIELD]

[Ill.u.s.tration: RICE-FIELDS]

Tea has become the staple crop, and is cultivated from Formosa to the forty-fifth parallel. Tea-farms occupy nearly every acre of the cultivable hill-side areas in some of the islands, and the soil is enriched with a fertilizer made from fish and fish refuse, dried and broken. Most of the tea product is made into green tea, and on account of its quality it commands a high price. Formosa tea is considered the best in the market.

Silk culture is confined almost wholly to the island of Hondo. The raw silk is of superior quality, and the exported material is used mainly in the manufacture of ribbons and brocades. A limited amount of cotton is grown, but the staple is short, and its cultivation is not profitable except in a few localities.

Among the forestry there is comparatively little timber suitable for building purposes, and a considerable amount of timber is purchased from the mills of Puget Sound. Bamboo is largely employed for buildings.

Camphor is the product of a tree (_Camphora officinarum_) allied to the cinnamon and the sa.s.safras. It is cultivated in the island of Kius.h.i.+u.

The best gum, however, is now obtained from Formosa, and this island now controls the world's supply. The camphor product is a government monopoly leased to a British company.

The lacquer-tree (_Rhus vernicifera_) grows mainly in the island of Hondo. The sap, after preparation, forms the most durable varnish known.

Black lacquer is obtained by treating the sap with nutgalls. Lacquered wooden-ware is sold all over Europe and the United States. The lacquered surface is exceedingly hard and water-proof; it is not affected by climate.

Gold, porcelain clay, silver, copper, and petroleum are mined. The gold and silver are used both for coinage and in the arts; the clay has made j.a.panese porcelains famous. The copper comes from the most productive mines of Asia; a considerable amount is exported, but much is used in the manufacture of j.a.panese bronze goods. Coal is mined, and this has given a great impetus to manufacture; iron ore is deficient, and steel must be imported. The quant.i.ty of petroleum is increasing yearly, and is becoming an important factor in the world's product.

Manufacturing industries are giving shape to the industrial future of the country. The cotton-mills alone employ seventy thousand people and keep more than one million spindles busy. More than one million operatives are engaged in textile manufactures. Much of the cloth, both cotton and silk, is still woven on cottage looms. The cotton cloth is sold mainly in China and Korea; the surplus silk textiles find a ready market in the United States. The best straw matting used as a floor-covering is now made in j.a.pan and const.i.tutes a very important export.

Three thousand miles of railway aid the internal industries of the country; several steams.h.i.+p lines to Hongkong and Shanghai, and one or more each to Vladivostok, Bombay, San Francisco, Seattle, Honolulu, Australia, and Vancouver (B.C.) carry the tea, raw silk, and manufactured products to Europe and America. Much, if not most, of the steams.h.i.+p interests are owned by the j.a.panese, and the lines are encouraged by government subsidies. France and the United States buy most of the raw silk. The latter country purchases most of the tea, sending coal-oil, cotton, leather, and lumber in return. Great Britain and Germany sell to the j.a.panese a large part of the textiles and the machinery they use. The exports to the United States are consigned mainly to San Francisco, New York and Seattle.

_Tokio_ is the capital; _Yokohama_ is the chief port for American traffic, and the market for most of the foreign trade. Most of the trade between China and j.a.pan centres at _Nagasaki_, which is the j.a.panese naval station. _Osaka_ and _Kioto_ are the chief centres of cotton and textile manufactures.

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