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Tuesday, 14 March 2017 05:26

Devils on the Loose

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In my latest book, Dragons, Devils and Rebels, there's a chapter on what Chinese and westerners thought of each other in the early days of contact. The book's finished, but I've since been reading a biography of an Englishman who lived in Shanghai in the mid 1850's. To his shock, when he first arrived Shanghai had been overrun by rebels, and was under siege from imperial troops. Still, he was an intrepid traveller. One day he went on 'an interesting excursion' to Wusong, by boat down the Huangpu. He and his companions sailed into trouble on the way home.

 

He writes:

'...in the evening we were puzzled to know how we should pass the Imperial fleet in safety. They are somewhat random with their fire after dark, and might easily have taken us for Chinese, if not Rebel spies. Mr Edkins came to the rescue, proposing that we should sing as we passed them, that they might know we were foreigners. This suggestion seemed good and the boatmen were pleased with the idea... We approached some ships we took to be the fleet, and passed them singing lustily. But just as we were about to congratulate one another on our success, the boatmen shouted to us to recommence, as we had been mistaken in what we supposed to have been the fleet and were just coming within range of their guns. 

'So now we had to tune up again without delay...We concluded just opposite the largest ship of the fleet. It was now quite dusk.

'"What now?" cried Mr Edkins, as the alarm-gong struck on board the ship. 'There is not a moment to lose."

'He then commenced singing I know not what. Quaterman struck up a truly American tune...while I at the same moment raised a third with all the voice I could command. The men on the warship were shouting loudly, our boat's crew outdoing them if possible, and the whole thing was so ludicrous that I could control myself no longer. I burst into a fit of laughter most inappropriate to the occasion. 

'"Who goes there?" shouted a voice from the Imperial ship.

'"Bai-gui [white devils]," yelled our men, while we cried simultaneously, "Da Ying-guo" [Great Britain] and "Hua-qi-guo" which means Flowery Flag Country, or America. 

'After a little further explanation we were allowed to pass, upon which my companions began to lecture the boatmen for having called us 'white devils'. The poor men, who had not yet received their day's pay were very penitent.'

This story is taken from a letter by James Hudson Taylor of 20 September 1854, in Biography of James Hudson Taylor by Dr and Mrs Howard Taylor, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1983, pp111-112. 


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    ‘The most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen’: Resurgent Rory McIlroy left incredulous after bizarrely hitting two balls at once
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    As the latest inductee into one of sport’s most exclusive clubs, there is little that grand slam champion Rory McIlroy has not seen in the game of golf. Then, just past the halfway mark of his Open Championship third round on Saturday, he swung.

    Enjoying an excellent day in front of a vociferous home support at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, the 36-year-old found himself in a spot of bother when his tee shot at the par-four 11th curved into the rough on the right of the fairway.

    The “Oh my God” that followed the subsequent swipe of his wedge was McIlroy’s response to his effort falling short of the green, but the world No. 2’s attention quickly turned to the ball, somehow, at his feet.
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    Miraculously, his swing had inadvertently popped up a second ball submerged below his played one in the Dunluce Links soil.

    “Oh my goodness … That’s got to be a first hasn’t it?” exclaimed three-time Open winner Nick Faldo on the Sky Sports Golf broadcast.

    “He was very fortunate to miss the ferns and the wild rose bushes but then he lands on an old golf ball … what a story.”

    McIlroy evidently saw the funny side, holding aloft the hidden treasure with an incredulous smile even as he watched his actual shot trickle away from the green before tossing it into a nearby bush.

    After the round, McIlroy said he “honestly” didn’t know what happened on the 11th.

    “That is the most weird, ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Then my ball came out really weird and spinny. Yeah, just so strange.”
    ‘One of the largest roars I’ve ever heard on a golf course’
    Though a first bogey of the round followed, the five-time major winner immediately responded in stunning fashion to reignite a day he had begun with three birdies in four holes.

    Just over 56 feet away from the par-five 12th cup, he knocked a perfectly weighted putt that rolled for more than 10 seconds before dropping in for eagle and sparking rapturous scenes in the stands behind him.

    “It’s one of the largest roars I’ve ever heard on a golf course,” he remarked later.

    It was the undoubted personal highlight of a day that saw McIlroy, born some 60 miles away in the small town of Holywood, keep his dream of a fairytale home Open win alive, as a five-under 66 lifted him to eight-under par overall.

    That left him six strokes adrift of leader Scottie Scheffler: one shot closer than at the start of Saturday but still surely requiring an even greater performance if he is to lift his second Claret Jug.

    “He’s playing like Scottie. I don’t think it’s a surprise … He’s just so solid, he doesn’t make mistakes,” McIlroy said.

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    “An absolute pleasure to play in front of my home crowd, my fans. I’ve tried my best. I try my best every week, but I’m really just trying to hang in there and stay in it.”

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