ABSTRACT
As we advanced, the appearance of the country grew worse, and we observed, to our great astonishment, whole patches uncultivated. For this we could discover no reason. We moreover espied several hamlets in ruins, whilst the inhabitants passed us in gloomy silence: a rare thing with a Chinaman, who has generally a smile in store and is never parsimonious of his good wishes. We finally came to a hamlet which was nearly deserted, and inhabited only by old women and children .... [W]e made inquiries of a gentleman, whom curiosity had brought into our company .... 'These evils,' he said, 'have been occasioned by war. Two rival clans, Wang and Jin, have risen in open hostilities against each other. Behold,' he continued, pointing to an extensive encampment, surrounded by some entrenchments, 'their fortifications; and the field of battle upon which they fought only a short time ago. It is on this account that the region around has been laid waste, and that many inhabitants have fled, or are roving about as desperadoes! The government, during the heat of the contest referred to, did not dare to interfere; but since the fury has abated, the chief magistrate at Zhangpu has just made his appearance, to extort fines and apprehend some of the guilty. For this unseasonable officiousness, several of his mynnidons have been killed, and things are again ripe for revolt. The whole populace, in the meanwhile, are ready to rise in arms, and most of the peasantry have provided themselves with matchlocks and swords.' 1
Onerous as conditions were normally, they had deteriorated during the 1840s and 1850s. The Treaty of Nanking which required China to open five treaty ports, the decline in imperial authority, population growth, opium addiction, and increasing reliance on a monetary economy had further pauperized the peasants. Though social break-down and the militarization of the countryside have been the subject of numerous studies, the experiences of peasants in interior Guangdong provide a graphic, "from-the-bottom-up" perspective on how individuals and families were affected.
