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Chapter 4: Lessons Learned (1906–1907)
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
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Johnston began his journey in January 1906 to explore several of the more remote parts of China. His desire for this type of travel—often solitary and sometimes downright dangerous—had been fuelled by the trip to the Shan States in 1902. The leave he had accrued by 1906 now enabled him to undertake a far more arduous expedition which took him From Peking to Mandalay, as he was to entitle the book he later wrote about the journey. The expedition also marks the beginning of a remarkable correspondence from himself to Stewart Lockhart, which survives to this day in the archives of the Stewart Lockhart Collection in Edinburgh. Comprising some 600 letters, the correspondence continued until Stewart Lockhart’s death in 1937. It is likely that Johnston and Stewart Lockhart had been writing to each other for some time before 1906. However, until Johnston began to send letters about his adventures in the heart of China, Stewart Lockhart did not think to preserve them. It is history’s good fortune that Stewart Lockhart assiduously kept every note from Johnston from then on, for they provide us today with a marvellous account of Johnston’s life and attitudes. Some are mere notes, scribbled in his office in Weihai, but others are true epistles, written in some instances over several days during his travels. The letters are frequently both enlightening and amusing; very few are dull. The characters which Johnston invented as a child make their appearance, providing a lightness of touch and even the occasional piece of irreverence in the midst of more serious concerns. The Quork remained a firm favourite, but other characters were created over the years specifically for the amusement of Stewart Lockhart’s two daughters, Mary and Margaret. The outrageous Mrs Walkinshaw, the Moon, and the disreputable Earl of Dumbarton also get a mention. These strange creatures had already become part of Stewart Lockhart family life, with Johnston once going so far as to sign the commissioner’s visitors’ book as the Earl of Dumbarton. Mary Stewart Lockhart would join in the fun and sign herself the Countess of Dumbarton, and Mrs Stewart Lockhart Chapter 4 Lessons Learned (1906–1907) 56 Scottish Mandarin frequently adopted the sobriquet Mrs Walkinshaw on such occasions. It is an indication of how close Johnston had become to the family that his fanciful characters entertained them all. The Moon was a particular favourite of James Stewart Lockhart. Johnston often notes in his letters that he is relieved to see that the Weihai Moon retains her trousers. This is a seemingly unintelligible reference to anyone who does not know the old Scots saying ‘Never mind the moon. Get yer knickers doon’, an endearing ditty beloved of many a Scots suitor, and obviously familiar to both men.1 If further proof of Johnston’s close friendship with Stewart Lockhart were required, it is found in the frequency and familiarity of their correspondence. Johnston was an inveterate letter-writer for most of his adult life. When he was away from Weihai, Stewart Lockhart missed him badly and eagerly awaited his letters.2 Elsewhere, Johnston’s letters were equally treasured: both Loveday and Clementi received fairly regular correspondence , though never in the quantity that Stewart Lockhart did. For the first ten months of 1906, Johnston’s letters to Weihai chronicle in considerable detail his long journey across China. Vivid and enjoyable descriptions of the route were enlivened with anecdotes and humorous asides. They provide a colourful account of his travels, later supplemented by a published account of the journey. From Peking to Mandalay reached the bookstalls in 1908 and gives a far more detailed account of the trip than do the letters, including information about the customs and people encountered en route and ending with almost 100 pages of notes and thoughts on aspects of China and the Chinese people. This is an interesting personal digression on Johnston’s part, but the letters somehow give a more riveting account of his adventure. In Weihai, riding was an everyday fact of life and Reginald relied on his horse, Hopedarg, for all his transport needs. But for this journey he had to do without his favourite horse, for no one beast could survive the long trek across China. Instead he hired horses at each stage of the route as he required them, thus ensuring a supply of fresh mounts to speed his progress. In his absence from the territory, and much to his amusement, Margaret Stewart Lockhart...