[Travels in the West/Shiba Kōkan] (10) Nagasaki: Chinese Ships and the Chinese Quarter

Looking at Nagasaki from Nishizaka. The one with the flag raised is the Dutch Dejima. Nearby, one can see two or three Chinese ships. The Dutch ships leave the port in the eighth month and anchor at Takasaki, one ri away. The Chinese Quarter is in a place called Jūzenji, which is low-lying, so it cannot be seen.

The Chinese Quarter is called Jūzenji (this is a place name, not a temple). Inside, there is a shrine to the Earth God. There is also a Guandi Hall. Those who cross the sea by imperial decree were formerly the Fan clan, then the Wang clan, and now the Qian clan comes; there are twelve other families as well. These people cross the sea for their own individual trade. They are all people from Suzhou. Suzhou is a place like Osaka in Japan, and it is the most prosperous place in Nanjing. Currently, only seven or eight ships cross the sea, and thirteen do not come.

There is a person called Cheng Chicheng from a place called Zhapu in Zhejiang. He has been coming to Nagasaki for fifteen years. Also, a person called Fang Xiyuan likes painting and has been crossing the sea for eight or nine years. He is a person from Fujian. Besides them, people like Zhou Renlu and Zong Jingting have been crossing the sea for years, but those who do not create calligraphy or paintings are not well-known. In the past, Cao Ting, Pu An, Dang Shan, and Ke Ting all practiced calligraphy. Yi Fuqi has landscape paintings. All of these types are merchants who have these skills in their spare time.

In Japan, even among merchants, there are many who learn poetry, haikai, and calligraphy. This should be compared to that. Being good at painting or calligraphy is not enough to be praised as refined. Among them, Shen Nanpin is the only one who is a skilled painter and a professional artist. Also, Fang Xiyuan, who has been coming in recent years, is not very good at trade but likes to paint. Most of his works are ink wash paintings without color. His teacher, a person named Zhou Xishan, whose name is Xuan, is a native of Beijing who traveled around and stayed in Nanjing, and recently came to Nagasaki. This person is a refined individual who is skilled at calligraphy and painting. He returns by ship in less than a hundred days. Perhaps he is someone avoiding government service. At the Nanjing Temple or the Zhenjiao Temple, I have met him many times and seen his calligraphy and paintings. I have also given him paintings from my side. In general, Chinese people are no different from Japanese people. Their aspirations are very similar. There are refined people and vulgar people. Also, their facial features are like those of Japanese people. It is just that their clothing is different.

Illustration of a Chinese person: Servant. The Ming dynasty fell, and it became the current Qing dynasty. It is the fifty-third year of the Qianlong era. Their customs are as shown in the illustration. They shave the hair around their heads and leave hair in the middle. It is said that Emperor Qianlong toured the country four times and is over ninety years old.

Chinese ships are located in a place called Umegasaki. The size of the ships is fifteen or sixteen ken, and the sails are not made of cloth. They are made of rattan woven into a basket, and inside, they lay down bamboo leaves. The locks are made of wood. On the stern, they paint figures or types of eagles using white and green pigments, which is very vulgar. Other than that, they are painted black, and square shapes are painted in white. These are paintings of the shape of a cannon.

|Illustration of a Terrace: A cool place for summer months
|Since Chinese residences are built by the Japanese, there is no unusual construction. Like in Japanese homes, when receiving guests, they spread out a felt rug.

|Full illustration of a Chinese ship: The tip of the mast is like this
The ships are not as neat as Japanese ships. They are all made of rough wood.

This is a depiction of the shape of a cannon (ishibiya) drawn with shell powder.