THE TRAVELLING BARGE
O f Van4 a-zhin.
A s tra v e llin g in C h in a is g en e ra lly p e rfo rm ed on th e wa te r, a prodigious
n um b e r o f Y a ch ts o r Barges o f v a rio u s forms are em p lo y ed , as well io r
th a t p u rp o se , as for th e conveyanc e o f merchandize .
T h e cen tral a p a rtm e n t, w h ich h a s an aw n in g over th e w indows, is occupied
b y th e p ro p r ie to r; th e fore p a r t o f th e vessel b y h is servants, an d the
aft o r stern p a rt is used for c u lin a ry purpose s, a n d sleeping places for the
b o atm en . Barges o f this k in d have one large sa il o f m a ttin g , stretched out
b y b amboos, ru n n in g h o riz o n ta lly across i t ; the sail m a y be in s ta n tly
tak e n in b y lettin g go the h a u ly a rd s , wh e n the sa il falls in folds s im ila r to
a fan . W h e n th e w in d o r tide is u n fa v o u rab le , these vessels are eith er
tracked alo n g b y h um a n la b o u r, o r scu lled b y larg e oars w h ic h wo rk on
pivots at th e bows a n d s te rn : b y means o f these oars, w h ic h are never
taken o u t o f the wa te r, b u t s im p ly sculled to an d fro, th e vessel is im p e lled
onwards w ith considerable ra p id ity . T h e trip le um b re lla p ro c la ims a
M a n d a rin e o f consequence to be o n b o a rd . T h e larg e lanterns w ith C h i nese
characters on th em , a n d th e ensign a t the ste rn , are likewise marks
o f d is tin c tio n .
PuJiluhd. %0. f f l 'l - l 'y fhU'vnaJl