On Qu Dajun and the Guangdong xinyu, see source 4.28.

The excerpts below are from Qu Dajun’s description of Macau in the chapter on geography. Whereas the section on “black people” in the later chapter on human beings (see source 4.28) focuses on black-skinned slaves owned by Chinese people in Guangzhou, this section describes the Portuguese and their African slaves. The unflattering description of Africans is similar to earlier accounts from the late Ming, but reflects an important root of these stereotypes: namely, that the Chinese tended to nickname them as “devil slaves” and regard them with fear or revulsion because their black skin made them look like the demonic beings in traditional Buddhist-inspired depictions of hell. Another noteworthy aspect is the claim that Chinese men who marry into Portuguese families and want to return to China have their appearance altered to prevent them from leaving.

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[The foreigners] wear hats made of black felt, which they doff as a greeting rite when they meet. They wrap their bodies with brocade and wool robes that have no collars, sleeves, or seams. They wear long swords fastened at their waists; the last several inches of the swords’ tails (i.e., tips) drag along on the ground and scrape the paving stones noisily. Their hair hangs down to their shoulders and is purplish-green and curly and disheveled. Their faces are extremely white, their noses are high, and their eyes are a deep blue-green, quite different from Tang people (Chinese).¹

Their servants’ entire bodies are [black] like undiluted lacquer, with disheveled beards and hair and an extremely rank odor. Their form is just like that of devils, and only their red lips and white teeth look somewhat like those of human beings. All their clothes are red and mostly made of gauze or wool, with strips of satin.² They are called “devil slaves.”

They all speak an incomprehensible gibberish.³ Every morning at breakfast time, they always ring a bronze bell and place their food in glass vessels on top of white cotton cloth. Each person has several vessels of food, and sprinkles rose water and camphor on top. Those seated all place their right hands under their cushions and do not use them, saying, “This is the unclean hand and is used only in the toilet.” They only use their left hands to pick up food. First, they crack several raw chicken eggs and eat them. Then they slice roasted meat with gold spoons. They wipe their hands with white cotton cloths, which they cast aside and replace after just one wipe. After eating, they lie down to sleep and do not get up until dusk. Then they light their lamps and attend to business.

They mostly use married women to conduct trade in the goods from the Western Ocean that they have gathered. The beautiful ones wear jeweled tiaras and flowery jackets of many colors, but their eyes are also slightly blue-green.⁴ Among them, women are most esteemed; they run the family business and inherit their fathers’ property. The men marry into their wives’ families, and this is called “handing the seal over” (jiaoyin 交印).⁵ The men are not allowed to have more than one woman, and anyone who breaks this law is put to death without exception. When the women go to the temple (church), sometimes the Dharma King (fawang 法王, i.e., priest) has his way with them and they bear sons to the Dharma King. These are called Sons of the Lord of Heaven and are regarded with the highest esteem.⁶ When they take a Tang person (Chinese man) as a son-in-law, the whole inlet (colony) sends its congratulations. If the son-in-law wishes to return to the Tang (i.e., leave Macau and return to Qing-ruled Guangdong), then his wife secretly uses drugs to blacken his face and turn his hair curly and yellow. Then he becomes a real foreigner (Fanren 畨人).⁷

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1. The Chinese people of Guangdong customarily called themselves “Tang people,” not “Han people.” ↩︎
2. The meaning of 辟支緞 is uncertain. ↩︎
3. Here Qu Dajun reverts to describing the Portuguese. ↩︎
4. The phrasing here suggests that Qu views light-colored eyes as less beautiful. ↩︎
5. The term jiaoyin usually means “resigning an official post” in Chinese usage. The practice described here was known to the Chinese as ruzhui 入贅, and involved a man adopting his wife’s surname and moving in to live with her family (matrilocality), in exchange for the right to inherit their property. ↩︎
6. This seems to be a rumor or misconception spread among the Chinese, as Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy and any such affair with a female parishioner would be a major scandal. ↩︎
7. Presumably, this prevents him from leaving his wife, as he no longer looks Chinese, but Qu Dajun does not explain why his appearance is changed to look like a black African slave (except for the yellow hair) rather than a white European. ↩︎