TJTE SdTANTOlT TBIBUXE SATITRDAT , MORNDJ'tf. APRIL 13. 1895.
It
Of and
Makers
About
Books-
TIIE REAL CHINAMAN.
Few more entertaining books may be
txpected to appear this year than Ches
ter Holoombe's "The Real Chinaman"
(New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.; for sale
in Scranton by M. Norton). In the first
place, it deals with an always interest
ing; subject, concerning: which the ma
jority of occidentals are profoundly, al
beit unconsciously, ignorant. Second
ly, it is brightly written by a gentleman
who, having passed many years in
China as Interpreter, secretary of lega
tion and Acting minister of the United
States, is well qualified to speak with
authority concerning many phases of
Chinese government, social life and na
tion characteristics. And lastly, the
book's mechanical tlneness, its profuse
illustrations, wide margins, clear
printing and novel imperial yellow
binding in linen boards stamped with
' the golden dragon, emblematic of the
Celestial empire, combine to make it a
pleasureful bopk to read. Still another
merit deserves to be noted. The author
writes of China and the Chinese not as
an apologist, critic or defender, but
simply as an accurate narrator of facts.
He describes things as they are, with
holding few things essential to a truth
ful picture of his subject, and adding
no touches of prejudice or favoritism.
The consequence is that he gives to the
reader many new ideas that frequently
prompt a revision of preconceived opin
ions. The book Is divided Into fifteen
chapters, the first Introductory to the
extent of explaining the peculiar atti
tude of the Chinese toward western na-
' tlons: the second describing the govern
ment of China; and the remaining chap
ters treating of the Chinese language,
home life, social life, religions, super
stitions, queues, courts of law, officials
and people, education and literature,
etiquette and ceremony, merchants
and tricks of trade, the Chinese poor,
and lastly the empire's little 'under
stood financial system. These Various
chapters, only a few of which can be
here examined, are exceedingly read
able. The writer of them omits to go
into the question of the moral quallty
of the Chinese character, possibly be
cause he distrusts the fairness of apply
ing to its measurement the standards
familiar to more civilized peoples. But.
as we shall have occasion to explain,
this omission Is fortunately corrected
by Henry Norman, In a book newly is
sued concerning the orient. The work
of Mr. Holcombe, so far as It goes. Is
probably the best and certainly the
most enjoyable picture of this peculiar
nation available In the mass of contem
porary literature bearing on eastern
subjects.
I.
Most persons wonder why China re
mains so continually impervious to the
Influences of what we call civilization.
The answer Is twofold. In the first
piace, the governmental system In
China, having descended almost Un
changed from father to eon for more
than 2.000 years, teaches in most lm-
prfMstve fashion the self-sufficiency of
the Chinese people, discourages Immi
gration cr travel and makes it a cardi
nal principle of the national philosophy
if we may thus use the word that the
customs of the fathers must be imitat
ed vndevlatlngly by the sons. We may
bptter understand this latter clause
whan we learn that In China the male
parent for the woman, as will be ex
plained hereafter, has no standing
whatever except as a creature of child
bearing and burden Is "absolutely
master of his son, entitled to his ser
vice and obedience so long as the par
ent lives. The son never becomes of
age, In our sense of the word, until the
father dies. The son must serve the
father so long as the father lives, at the
sacrifice of his own wife and children,
if necessity arise; must honor him with
an extravagant funeral at death,
mourn him for three years, during
which period his wife must not give
birth to a child, and offer sacrifice twice
each year, so long as he himself lives,
at his father's tomb." The family, not
the Individual, Is the unit In China.
The emperor Is supposed to be the
father of all Chinamen, hence to prop
erty claim the Implicit obedience of all
his subjects. And customs handed
down from father to son become not
often empty traditions, as with us, but
vital and venerable obligations ground
ed in the very depths of the China
man's bfir.g. The fathers decreed non
intrroourse with occidental nations;
the sons In duty bound do tnelr best to
obey, and so far as they are modern
ized at all, are modernized against their
will and in violence to all that they
have been taught for a score of cen
turies to hold most dear.
The second reason for China's "offlsh
ntss" toward pale-faced peoples may be
exprereed In the adage that "the
burned child dreads fire.'!. The first
real Introduction of Chjna to the so
called civilized world in this age was
accomplished by force of British arms,
sen; to punish China for destroying. In
1810. a rich cargo of opium which the
British East India company, contrary
to all principles of both equity and In
ternational law, had surreptitiously
tried to introduce Into China, for the
dehast-ment of Its citizens. The opium
thus destroyed was valued at $6,000,000.
Great Britain forced China to pay 21.
000,000 Indemnity, and unconditionally
cede to It the important island of Hong
Kong. Later England, at point of
bayonet, forced China to legalize the
opium traffic or, more proptt ly speak
ing, its oplu.,1 t-afflc and exacted
other concessions that would, in civil
ized lands, smack of highway robbery,
but which, as applied to pagan China,
were regarded as an "Inevitable con
quest of occidental ideas." Other dem
onstrations which China has had of
"Christian" diplomacy have been
equally prejudicial to a rapid over
throw of native repugnance to Interna
tional Intercourse.
To these two reasons might be added
third, in the complete ignorance
which originally existed and largely
till exists in the average Chinese mind
touching Caucasians. Until recently
It was an offense punishable by death
for a Chinaman to be caught traveling
outside the boundaries of his native
land. Centuries of flattery heaped upon'
the Chinese officials by provincial
neighboring countries like Corea and
Slam, had Inculcated the lrp. thai
China wa the only land :on the earth
wortfr considering , Tlwjrefdrey why
should the Chinese care to have deal
ings with mllk-complexloned Christian
pagans who greeted them only to abuse
them, rob them, and beat down their
line self-esteem T
The government of China Is patrlar-
the
.j'.. . ...
Some of the Latest Volumes
To Issue from the Press.
chial. The emperor bosses everything
and owns everything. Me chooses his
subordinate councillors and executive
officials, who In turn choose their assist
ants. The father rules the family; a
council of fathers rules the village, sec
ondary, of course, to the emperor and
his general representatives; and this
order of progression is followed out
until the province is reached, which
corresponds to our state, - There are
eighteen provinces In the Chinese em
pire, and each enjbys a certain degree
of home rule, which is never checked
except when it conflicts with the Im
perial wish or, what is practically the
same thing, with what is supposed to
be the Imperial wish. While the em
peror Is venerated most profoundly and
obeyed to a degree, Incapable of ex
planation to Caucasian ears, the other
officials are regarded very .much as
public servants, to be respected only
as parents or Instruments of the em
peror. The Chinese system of civil
promotion along the line of what there
Is deemed merit makes it possible for
any bright Chinese boy to hope to be
come, if not president (or emperor), at
least prime minister. The imperial
powers of the emperor alone excepted,
China Is governed very much on the
tribal or democratic principle. A pecu
liar fact Is that while the emperor owns
everything, even to the lives of his 300,
000,000 or more subjects, his family and
relatives are comparatively little es
teemed. Mr. Holcombe says he has
many a time had In his employ a man
who, as a blood relative of the emperor,
was entitled to wear the imperial yel
low girdle, or badge of highest dis
tinction; but he was a hod-carrier, and
earned 6 cents a day. As showing the
possibilities open to the ambitious, In
China, the author elsewhere notes that
one of the greatest of Chinese premiers,
Shen Kuel Fen, "was the son of a street
peddler who esteemed himself fortu
nate If he made a profit of ten cents a
day, from his business. Such cases are
not exceptions. They form the rule."
II.
Very Interesting to the American are
Mr. Holcombe's chapters on the home
and Boclal life of the Chinese, for con
cerning this subject hardly anything is
known In this country. ; "In one re
spect at least," he tells us, "China sets
an example which all the world may
wisely follow. In this empire every
one marries and no one 'boards.' " But
It must be conceded as an offset to this
Item of superiority, that the Chinese
marriage, so far as the bride is con
cerned, is an emphatic failure. She
not only has no voice in the selection
of her marital lord and master, "but,"
the author informs us, "theoretically
at least marries one whom she has
never seen, and to whom she has never
spoken. He, upon his part, has never
seen her, had no share In making the
selection, and has not the least reason
to be other than wholly indifferent to
her. In her new home the wife becomes
simply a convenient under-servant.
The most menial tasks, the heaviest
burdens, are laid upon her. Her only
Justification for continuing to live Is
found in child-bearing.' Prior to that
event she Is not even given the title
of a married woman, but Is still spoken
of or addressed as a girl. When Bhe
becomes a mother, and especially If she
bears a son, thenat last she Is entitled
to a certain amount of respect and
recognition as something higher than
a beast of burden." Hut before this
event occurs young wives, the author
says, frequently commit suicide as the
only escape from the Intolerable cruel
ties of the mother-in-law,-, who, even in
China, appears to rank as a promoter
of domestic discord.
It is impossible to exaggerate the so
cial Jegredatlon which Chinese cus
tom decrees as the lot of woman."" She
Is never anything but a servant to her
husband. "In the event of her death,"
writes Mr. Holcombe, "her sons must,
by Chinese law, wear mourning and go
about with unshaven heads for a period
of 100 days. But her husband would
render himself an object of ridicule
and contempt among his friends If he
put on mourning or expressed grief at
her loss." In conversation with some
high officials of the government of
China the author once referred to the
then recent death of the wife of the
Prince Regent and remarked that of
course the prince would go Into retire
ment and lay aside his duties for a
time. "Ov; no," replied one of the
cabinet, v-.th a laugh, "the death of a
wife counts for nothing with us. Why
should the prince go Into mourning for
her? He can get as many more as he
wishes." And, as a matter of fact,
the wealthier men of China do have
many wives, at one tlme The emperor,
In addition to four head wives, has
usually from 75 to 100 assistant wives,
or concubines; and Is "supposed to
study the character of all his numerous
sons by all these head assistant wives,
and to select from the entire number
that one best qualified to succeed him
on the imperial throne."
Women are seldom mentioned by
men In China. They are not supposed
to be seen by their neighbors except at
a distance. It Is regarded as an Insult
to ask a Chinaman how his wife Is.
Apropos of this peculiar social canon,
Mr. Holcombe narrates an interesting
Illustration, which we reproduce In htB
own language. '"In May, 1875,"- he
writes, " news reached Peking that an
honored Chinese official, ; then resident
In the United States, had married an
American lady. Soon after the receipt
of this Intelligence the United States
minister and I had occasion to vls.lt the
Chinese foreign office. The minister In
formed me that he. intended to con
gratulate the Chinese officials upon this
marriage. I advised him that it was
contrary to Chinese notions of propriety
to refer to such subjects, and that his
remarks would be misunderstood.
However, when the . party were, as
usual, Beated around a table at the for
eign office, tea had been served and the
ordinary salutations exchanged, the
minister requested me to say to Prince
Kung, then at the .bead of the govern
ment, that 'the relations between the
United States. and China, which, had
been of so friendly a character for
many years, ought to be much strength
ened by the fact that a distinguished
Chinese officer'.; had married: a pretty
Tankee girl.' I again remonstrated
with the minister, -but upon his re
newed request I repeated this remark
in Chinese to 'the ' prince. We were
seated around a circular table, and be
sides the prince and two foreigners
there were present six members' of the
cabinet; "venerable and .'gray-headed
men. For a moment there was dead
silence, Eaoh minister of state looked
down at his plate. None dared to speak.
Then Prince Kung raised his head,
looked at me in silence, and drawing a
long breath, remarked: 'It Is fearfully
hot today.' This was the'sole outcome
of our minister's well-meant -. but ill
timed congratulations."
; By reason of the fact that mixed as
semblages of the two Sexes are for
bidden by the Chinese social code, and
that it Is even deemed a disgrace for a
huBband to be seen walking, in public
with his wife, the social functions of
China are confined largely to men.
Women of the better class sometimes
exchange visits and drink tea after the
fashion of our American1 "five o'clocks;"
but never form large gatherings. All
over three constitute a "crowd" which
Is respected more for Its room than lta
company. So great Is this aversion of
the male Chinese to the company of the
female, In public, that It is impossible
for an American traveling with hla
wife In China to get natives to drive
the mule litters In which all Journeys
are made that la, large sedan chairs
transported by mules unless the two'
tourists consent to occupy separate lit
ters. Mr. Holcombe relates an Instance
of this aversion which deserves to be
repeated. It will be remembered that
some years ago the Chinese govern
ment, in a fit of Boon repented liberali
ty, sent a delegation of Chinese young
men to this country to be educated.
The campaign of education proceeded
so rapidly that one day the venerable
Chinese director of these Mongolian
pupils, while out driving, on a Sunday
afternoon, espied one of his young men
walking : home -from .Sunduy school,
alongside a young lady. "The young
gentleman politely bowed, and removed
his hat to his superior. The conserva
tive old disciple of , Confucius could
hardly credit his eyes. Here was one
of the boys under his charge, for whose
moral and mental training he was re
sponsible, actually walking In full day
light upon the streets with a" young
woman who was neither his sister nor
his first cousin. This fact alone was
quite sufficient to stamp the reputation
of both the young people as hopelessly
bad. But to complete the offense, the
young man had the effrontery to re
move his hat before his superior, an act
which was of Itself a grave breach of
Chinese etiquette. The Incident was
reported to Peking, where It was looked
upon, as the director himself viewed
and characterized it, as an evidence
that the students had quite lost their
good manners and sense of decency.
With other causes It led to the recall of
the entire body of students."
Perhaps one of the reasons why the
Chinese do not indulge in our forms of
soclul enjoyment is because they have
been taught under the Confucian sys
tem to regard dignity and statellness
and repose as the greatest of social
virtues. A Chinese gentleman seldom
walks fast. He never runs. He In
dulges In little laborious physical, exer
cise. He Is ceremonious In the extreme,
but after his own fashion." The female
sex," says Mr. Holcombe, "has no place
In his Idea of respectable pleasure, nor
has violent exercise of any sort a place
In his category of gentlemanly amuse
ments." It Is. related that the first
Chinese minister to this country was
once Invited to a reception In Washing
ton where dancing was the principal
feature of the evening's entertainment.
After watching the flushed and heated
dancers for some time in undisguised
amazement, and contrasting their vio
lent exercise with their elegant and
manifestly expensive costumes, he
turned to a friend and inquired: "Why
do they do that hard work? Cannot
they afford to hire some one to do it for
them?"
Before we pass to other phases of the
Chinese life and Character, we wish to
refer to a notable custom, religiously
observed In China, yet exceedingly gro
tesque to occidentals. It has already
been stated that the supreme duty of a
Chinaman, next to his allegiance to the
emperor, is toward his parents. One of
the odd methods taken to emphasize
this filial respect and affection Is thus
desorlbed: . "It Is no uncommon sight
Ira Peking or any other city of the em
pire to see a company of men, headed
by a band of music and many banners,
parading the streets In a long proces
sion, at the center of which are two
.coffins. The absense of white, which Is
the national mourning color, the lively
strains of music land the general air of
pleasure throughout the members of the
party make It certain that they are not
performing the last sad rites for the
dead. The two coffins have been pur
chased by the sons of, say, Mr. and Mrs.
Chang, as slight tokens of filial affection
and honor. And they are being carried
with great pomp and display to the
home of the old people, to whom they
will be presented with pleasant speeches
and appropriate replies from the sur
prised recipients." An American par
ent might question the spirit of such a
gift But Chinese parents "have no
such squeamish notions. They accept
these .finely lacquered and decorated
coffins as a final proof of the fore
thought and affectionate cafe of their
children. The. gifts are placed in the
state apartments of their home, caretul
ly protected from Injury and shown
with great pride to their friends. The
lugubrious side of the gift never strikes
them. They see in It only the love, re
spect and forethought of their children.
It assures .their minds upon one point
which Is of great Importance to a
Chinese: It Is ia present pledge of .an
honorable, dignified funeral.'' .
i ,
III.
When it is. said that the religion of
China Is Confucianism, it needs to be
explained that Confucius was purely a
mural philosopher, who cared little for
forms of worship and tnuoh for abstract
maxims. Tl?"9 tne Chinese of today, al
though given over to a .good deal of
formalism"-In their religious rites,, are
tolerant to a singular degree of other
religions. It Is not the white man's re
llglqn that these people resent when
Christian missionaries' come - among
them; It Is the white man's diametrical
ly opposite customB of life and manners
of thought. TheChlnese are Confucians
with Buddhism superadded In distorted
forms; yet there are millions -of Mo
hammedans living at peace within the
empire, and, strangest of .all, the au
thor tells us that in the center of the
province of Honan, which s to say
nearly In the center of the Chinese em
pire, is a single village of Jews, wflio
have occupied substantially' their pres
ent location since the dispersion of the
tribes of Israel. Through all the cen
turies they have,' in this undisturbed
village, quietly preserved helr ancient
ritual and (all other essential forms of
their national identity. This bespeaks
tolerance among the Chinese; but the
Chinese aryt probably 4) operant ' for the
reason that religion, as a rule, sits light
ly on their shoulders, They become in
tolerant only when- touched upon' that
tender spot, their superstitions,
In an earlier chapter Mr. Holcombe ex
plains why, although the Chinese have
latterly immigrated to America and
some other countries in large numbers,
they never form permanent colonlen,
but after a period of migration always
return to their native land. This is duo
to the deeply rooted religious belief that
unless the body of a Chinaman is in
terred in the ancestral burying ground,
that Chinaman's soul will not rest easy
in the spirit land but wander about like
a ghost perturbed. Perhaps the great
est single manifestation of the hold
which the somewhat platitudinous
teachings of Confucius have acquired
upon the multiplying millions of human
beings who inhabit China is shown in
the veneration which Confucianism
commands to be paid by its followers to
their ancestors. "So far as can be dis
covered," our author informs us, "this
worship of ancestors Is as old as the
race. It is the most deeply rooted of all
form of religion in the very fibre of the
Chinese character and beyonu a ques
tion, it will be the laat of all forms of
false faith, to die out from among
them." The masses believe that the
spirits of the departed remain near the
home occupied by them during life, and
near the grave In which the body rests.
They believe that these spirits are
powerful to work good or ill to their
descendants, and that hence they must
be propitiated by offering's. Thus it is
customary for all Chinese families, upon
appointed 'holidays, to the accompani
ment of exploding firecrackers, to place
rlh feasts of baked meats, rice and
cakes, together with rare wine and rich
silks, updn the graves of their departed
progenitors, in the hope that the spirits
of these departed ones will eat, drink,
clothe themselves and be induced to
view with favor their thoughtful de
scendants''ln the flesh. The spirits, of
course, do these things only In a spiri
tual sense; and what in left when they
have satisfied their spiritual desires, is
promptly disposed of by the more, ma
terial providers thereof. .This Interest
ing rite explains, among other things,
why there, are no bachelors in China.
For, unless one marry and have de
scendants, how Is one to be clothed and
fed after one is dead?
Secondary to Confucianism Is Tao
ism, a Jumble of complex superstitions
and Idolatries difficult to be understood
or. explained. Originally Taoism taught
ascetlclam, or that" the study of pure
reason and the mortification of bodily
desires formed the sole duty of man.
But nowadays, Taoism has degenerat
ed into a craft qf mountebank priests
and astrologers, who play upon the
credulity of the ignorant masses for
purposes of their own. Buddhism is
also in general vogue, in corrupted
.forms. Temples and shrines to Bud
dha are numerous throughout the em
pire. The worship in these temples is
always individual, there being no such
thing as Joint or congregational service
known. A worshiper comes In, buys
from the priest, for a few cash, several
sticks of Incense, which the priest lights
at the sacred flame. Those are handed
to the worshiper, who places them In a
bronze Incense-burner upon a table In
front of the image of Buddha. He then
prostrates himself upon a rug before
the idol three times, each time knock
ing his head thrice upon the floor, the
priest meanwhile beating' a huge drum
or bell, to attract Buddha's attention.
This done, the worshiper rises and goes
about his business. These Buddhistic
temples advertise for trade, like any
other species of business house; and
even employ priestly solicitors to drum
up cash-paying worshipers.
These solicitors, or professional beg
gars, to be more exact, generally at
tract attention by some marked peculi
arity of personal appearance. One had
circular holes cut through his cheeks.
Through these holes anr.Iron rod had
been placed, so that ' both ends
projected an Inch from the cheek.
A half-circle hoop of Iron was looBely
fastened to either end of the rod and
passed around the back of the- head,
where It was attached to a log chain
several feet long. Another was boxed
tightly within a wooden overcoat, Into
which spikes were driven so as to pin
him fast. The fellow set up a great
howling, and any one who sympathized
with his condition could contribute to
ward his relief by buying of a nearby
priest one of the offending spikes,
which, upon payment of its price would
be pulled out and given to the merciful
purchaser as a souvenir of his warmth
of heart. Not all self-inflicted cruelties
are, however, calculated with a view
to securUng alms. The author tells the
following circumstance showing a sin
cerity of faith which, despite its Idiocy,
has a touch of the sublime: "One In
tolerably hot and dusty afternoon I
was resting at a wayside tea-house
to the southwest of Peking when I
saw a man approaching; and stirring
the deep dust of the highway tn a very
peculiar manner. The man would take
one long step forward from a certain
point, measure his length, face down
ward, In the road, then place his feet
in the spot marked In the dust by his
forehead, take another step, measure
his length again, oind so proceed, one
step and one prostration, as the
Chinese call it. At each prostration he
knocked his head three times in the
dust. The proceeding reminded me of
the measuring worm of childhood. In
answer to my questions, he said that
a year before, when his omly son was
very ill, he had made a vow that. If
Buddha would restore the young, man
to health, he would make a pilgrimage
to Wu Tal Shan and back to his native
village, making the entire Journey In
the manner above described. The dis
tance was nearly 2,000 miles, and he
could measure only about three miles
a day. As he was 78 years old, frail in
appearance and about worn out, It
was easy to see that he would not live
to fulfill his vow. A callous lump as
large as an egg had formed upon his
forehead. Yet this man was shocked
and angry at a suggestion that he
should abandon his useless pilgrimage,
and passed out of sight measuring the
road with his feeble body."
IV. . .
The Chinaman may be tolerant In his
Ideas concerning religion, of which he
possesses little, but he does not carry
this liberal spirit into the domain of
his superstitions. The entire mental
fabric of the Chinese nation, as Mr. Hol
combe shows us. Is saturated with super
stitious notions which hold the people
In a vise-like grip. There Is hardly an
act in the entire sphere of a Chinaman's
activities which Is not guided in some
degree by these grotesque beliefs, ' But
perhaps the' easiest way to a clear un
derstanding of thlB assertion Is to fol
low the author through some of his In
teresting recollections of specific vaga
ries common amongst the Chinese. The
most general class of superstitions in
China relate to locality and are known
by the untranslatable term of ''feng
shul." The "feng shui" are the spirits
of a given lot, house or acre, who must,
at all hazards be propitiated. Clothe
the spooks of our Yankee haunted
houses with supernatural power to bless
or destroy the corporeal owners of those
houses, and you will have something
closely aanalagous to the Chinaman's
"feng shul." The Jdea of the latter is
that each particular spot of ground has
Its own spiritual forces, or influences,
which are- affected, for better or worse,
by the slightest change in the contour
or condition of it! t These Influences
may be friendly to one man and hostile
to' another.' Thus, while the former
may prosper in a certain house, the lat
ter, moving Into It, will suffer serious
misfortunes unless, by some alteration
In the building or change In the "lay of
the land," he shall succeed In appeasing
the anger and exciting the gratitude of
the locality's geomanttc powers.
This superstition takes the deepest
Imaginable hold upon the Chinese peo
ple, from emperor to pauper. "Only a
few years since," the author says, "a
number of Chinese officials united in a
petition to the throne asking that a stop
be put to mining coal and Iron at a
point forty miles distant from the im
perial tombs, upon the plea that this
mining would disturb the bones of the
empress, who had recently been burled.
A few .years earlier the viceroy at Foo
Chow formally reported to the emperor
that permission ought not to be granted
to certain foreigners to erect buildings
upon the slope of a hill within the walls
of the city. He based his objection upon
the asserted fact that a great dragon
rested underneath Foo Chow and sup
ported the foundations of the city; that
at the spot named the veins and arteries
of the dragon came near to the surface,
and hence that the weight of the build
ings, if constructed, would Impede his.
circulation."
Quite as Interesting, In Us way, Is the
trouble experienced by the government
officials In deciding upon a burial place
for, the remains of the emperor Tung
Chlh, who died In January, 1875, and
was unable to find a satisfactory rest
ing place, until the following October.
The custom had been, up to that time,
to bury imperial bodies alternately in
an eastern and In a western cemetery,
In tha hope that by this exact counter
balancing of mortuary honors the "feng
shut" of each cemetery would be afford
ed no reason for Jealousy. Inasmuch
as Tung Chlh's father had oeen Interred
In the eastern cemetery, the general
opinion properly was that Tung him
self ought, In common fairness, to be
deposited in the western place of burial.
"But the court astrologers declared, as
a result of their divinations, that no
place could be found there where he
might lie without Injury to the state,
and hence that he must be burled else
where. Months of Investigation, re
peated references to different boards
and departments of the public service,
and numerous commands from the new
emperor followed, until, after nine
months of effort, It wns finally decided
that he positively could not be Interred
In the western cemetery, where he be
longed, but with certain precautionary
and conciliatory measures he might be
put under ground In the eastern. This
was done as the lesser of two evils. The
whole empire had been stirred up over
the question; It had been the vital topic
at numerous councils of Btate, and a
large sum of money, estimated at $250,
000, had been expended, all to determine
at what spot the remains of a worthless
and vicious young man might be put
out of sight."
In consequence of the ultra-fastldl-ousness
of the "feng shul" of Chinese
cemeteries, millions of occupied coffins
are today, unbuiied. They are placed,
hermetically sealed. In temples or par
lors, pending an adjustment of the dif
ferences between the surviving rela
tives and the spirits of the burial
ground. The methods by which the
"feng shul" are finally placated are
simple In the extreme. An astrologer
is consulted and presented with a fee
; he goes Into a pow wow with the
Inhabitants of the invisible kingdom;
and brings back a message command
ing that a tic be planted at a speci
fied place In the cemetery, a stone
added or removed, or some equally
trivial alteration made. This done,
the trouble ends, unless a second mes
sage, communicated through the as
trologerlikewise, for a consideration
shall necessitate additional propiti
atory offerings. ThlB topographical
superstition of the "feng shul" Is actu
ally recognized In the statutes of the
empire. A Chinese may sue and re
cover damages at law against another
for any action which can be shown to
the satisfaction of the Judge to have
unfavorably affected the "feng shul"
of his hpuse or place of business.
"Years afco." Mr. Holcombe tells us.
"the secretary of the Chinese treasury
refused to permit a well-known Ameri
can who resided next door to him, and
who was In the service of the Chinese
government, to build any chir.neys to
his house, as they would affect the
'feng shul' of the secretary's residence.
In consequence, the' American could
have no adequate fires in his
rooms during the cold winters.
Later, the construction of a high
chimney for some gas works In the
capital reduced by more than one-half
the value of all structures within a mile
of the objectionable work." It Is evi
dent that such a superstition, to which
the whole people are committed, muBt
operate as a considerable barrier to
commercial and Individual progress:
Belief in the "luckiness" of certain
days obtains throughout ' China. The
merchant will not begin business or the
lover marry until the astrologers have
named a favorable day. Every weighty
enterprise must be undertaken in ac
cordance with the advice of those who
read the stars. In time of drought, if
ordinary Incantations will not bring
rain, the emperor, In his sacerdotal
character as head of the religious sys
tem of China, must go to the sacred
altar of the Temple of Heaven, to which
he alone Is privileged to penetrate, and
there make sacrifices and supplicate
for rain. If after three such pilgrimages
the emperor's prayers are not an
swered, he at once proceeds to play his
trump card. "Several . hundred years
ago," says the author, "a piece of iron
was found In a well In a temple en
closure several hundred miles to the
southwest of Peking. It waB declared
to have dropped Into the well from hea
ven, and has since been kept as a sa
cred relic In the temple. The emperor
sends a commission, headed by an Im
perial prince, to the temple to receive
this bit of rusty Iron from the priests
and carry. It to the capital. There it
Is deposited with elaborate ceremonies
In a temple, and on a) day named In ad
vance by proclamation, the emperor
proceeds to this temple, prostrates him
self before the bit of iron, and prays to
It for rain." What would happen
should the iron once more disappoint
his imperial, high mightiness Is not re
lated. Minor superstitions are Innumerable.
A dark-colored spherical stone, five feet
In diameter, probably a meteorollte.was
once found, centuries ago, and Invested
with miraculous power, upon the theory
that It had dropped from heaven. Suc
ceeding . generations - of worshipers
have kissed its surface smooth. One
large locust tree, said by the na
tives to be 4,000 years old, has
been clothed by the , masses with
supernatural qualities and Is visited
yearly , by millions of worshipful' pil
grims, who set its aid in the cure of
disease. No.glrlor woman Is permitted
to Venture near a well that is being; dug,
for reason's known only to the Chinese
themselves. .Finally, although. Chinese
state dinners often comprise as high as
78 courses and last twelve hours, under I
no circumstances are the plates
changed.. The Chinese say to change
the plates at dinner is a certain omen
of in luck. .' ,
What Is the actual normal character
of the Chinese people, considered with
reference to morals? In. Mr. Holcombe's
book this question is parried. The im
pression one gets by reading It is that,
considering all things, the Chinese is
really a pretty good sort of fellow.
Henry Norman, on the other hand, in
his just-Issued book, "The People and
Politics of the Far East," as we learn
from an exhaustive review by Mr. Ha
zletlne In the New York Sun, regards
the Chinaman as the Incarnation of
pretty nigh all that la vicious and cor
rupt. Every Chinese official, except
ing possibly one in a thousand, 1b In
his judgment a liar, a thief and a
tyrant; and he opines that the people
who tolerate such officials are them
selves not much better. Their beset
ting vices, according to Mr. Norman,
are dirt, falsehood, corruption and
cruelty. The first goes without saying.
The second and third are generally ad
mitted, not even Mr. Holcombe caring
to enter a denial. As for their cruelty,
both to dumb animals and to human
beings, Mr. Norman cites abundant evi
dence. Hearing laughter In his stable,
a friend of Mr. Norman, living in Pek
ing, investigated. He discovered that
two of his Chinese servants had caught
a big rat, nailed its fore paws to a
board, saturated it with kerosene, set
fire to It and were watching its frantic
movements, regarding them as exceed
ingly funny. Professional kidnapers
steal the children of white residents,
take them to distant cities, blind them
and sell them Into slavery. No matter
what accident may happen to one of his
countrymen, the typical Chinese will
render no assistance until paid or
promised pay. For Instance, a steam
launch built at Hong Kong blew up on
her trial trip, and, among others, the
wife of the editor of a Hong Kong
paper was thrown Into the water. Some
Chinese in a sampan paddled up, and
positively refused to take her on board
until she had promised them fifty dol
lars. Another member of the same
party had to promise five hundred dol
lars before a boatman would undertake
to convey several of the survivors to
Hong Kong. One of the latest news
papers received from China tells how
a boat, paddled by two men, carrying
rice from Shanghai to Pootung, cap
sized In the midst of a number of fish
ing boats. The fishermen Immediately
seized upon the rice and property be
longing to the capsized boat, but took
not the slightest notice of the drowning
men.
Do Chinese practice infanticide to a
considerable extent? Mr. Norman
maintains that they do; Mr. Holcombe,
that they do not. We shall present
both sides. Among the proofs cited in
Mr. Norman's book are the following:
One man, who had been In the employ
of a foreigner for two years, and had
received good wages, put his little girl
to death because, as he said, he .could
not afford to feed her. A woman, with
out solicitation, told one of the foreign
ladies that she had killed five children
In order to go out as a nurse, nnd that
her husband compelled her to do It. A
man who passed for a gentleman vol
unteered the Information that he had
allowed two of his girls to die for want
of care. It was, he explained, "only a
small matter. We just wrapped them
up In bedclothes, and very soon they
were gone. I am a poor man; girls are
a great expense and earn no money,
and as we already had two we con
cluded we could not keep any more."
The testimony of a Chinese teacher Is
as follows: "Infanticide is very com
mon among the poor, and even among
people In pretty easy circumstances.
There Is hardly a family wherein at
least one child has not been destroyed,
and In some families four or five are
disposed of. Nothing can be done. The
officials know It, but say it is something
they cannot control." Another man,
who Is now a member of the Christian
church, says that, in his village, there
Is hardly a family that has not des
troyed two or three children. A wo
man testified that "It was very common
for poor people to go Into rich families
as wet nurses, because they receive
good wages', and, in fact, they often
destroyed their babies that they might
do so." A lady contributor to the
North China Dally News furnished the
following statistics: "I find that 160
Chinese women, all over fifty years of
age, had borne 631 sons and C38 daugh
ters. Of the sons, nearly sixty per
cent, had lived more than ten years,
while, of the dnughters. only thirty
eight per cent, had lived thus long. The
160 women, according to their own
statement, had destroyed 158 of their
daughters; but none had ever des
troyed a boy. The probability Is that
the number of Infanticides confessed
to is considerably below the truth."
Mr. Holcombe, while not denying that
Infanticide may occur In rare Instances,
thinks that the prevalence of the belief
In Its general occurrence arises from a
misapprehension. He admits that
hundreds of children die every day and
are literally carted outside the city or
village limits, like garbage, to be thrown
by the wagonfuls. Into trenches or pits
and covered over with quicklime. But
he contends that they are not deliber
ately killed by their parents, but "are
the victims of one of the most cruel and
revolting superstitions that ever found
lodgment In the human brain. When
a child sickens It has, according to the
means and intelligence of the parents,
the same anxious care and medical at
tendance that would be given among
us; but If all remedies fall of effect, and
death Is apparently near, the situation
changes at once. The little thing la
stripped naked and placed on the floor,
which Is either of mud or brick, Just In
side the outer door of the room. The
parents leave It there and watch the
issue. If, which Is seldom the rase, It
survives the ordeal, It Is a true child of
their own flesh and blood; If It dies, then
AN ITALIAN SKY
IS NOT AS' CLEAR
k mm a mt
a . "
iTff!
CARLSBAfti
fPSrirftriini
T IS INVALUABLE FOR
Stomach derangements!
Kidney and'
It never was their child, but an evil
spirit seeking admission to their hearth
stone In order to work them mischief
ruin, itence, it is thrown, into the
Street to be ratherMl iin h tha
oart.- No power could Induce them to
n. proper Dunai in the family rest
ing place for the. dead. That would
mean Its adoption by them, and what
sane Chinese would adnnt nn Avll .mlt.lt
Into his family? This Is the theory, and
....... ins way tney argue and act; and
the dead cart, with Its freight, is the
fearful result. Evidently such treat
ment kills many young children who
under other circumstances would re-
., una me results of this supersti
tion, are great ennnirh tn f..ll.. ...,.
for a theory of willful infanticide."
To the ordinary reader It will prob
ably appear that the difference between
..... urmanana air. Holcombe touching
this point Is one of name rather than
fact' L. S. R.
-
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS:
Charles A. Dana's book, "The Art of
Newspaper Muklng," is announced.
Oertrude Atherton call Boston "the city
of anaemic virtue und emasculated vice."
"Oulda," according to one report. Is
penniless and all her property has been
told for debt.
Mrs. Ward's "Marcella" is In its 12th
edition in London, which means that tho
2oth thousand Is now on sale.
Harper & Bros, have brought out a wel
come paper edition of George MacDonuld's
"Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood."
Miss Braddon, thank heaven, Intends to
write no more novels. She has already
given to the world more than fifty works
of fiction.
Madame Sarah Grand Is getting better,
and is spending some time in Purls, where,
It Is said, she Is gathering material for an
other book.
The loth volume of Dr. Furness's vari
orum edition of Shakespeare, "A Midsum
mer Night's Dream," la about rady for
publication.
A volume of poems dealing chiefly with
Egyptian subjects Is soon to be brought
out by Miss Mathllde Blind. She cull tha
book "Birds of Passage."
A cloth-bound set of Harrier's Weekly
from tho beginning January, 1S57, to 189a,
inclusive 37 volumes, sold at Bangs & Co.'s
auction room In New York on Thursday
for $115.02.
The first aeries of the "Chlmmle Fadden".
papers Is now In Its 17th edition. Mr.
Townsend, the author, will bring out a
longer work, "A Daughter of the Tene
ment," In the fall.
Miss Gilder publishes In the Critic of
April 6 nn amusing refutation of a story
in the Philadelphia Times about the down
fall ami decay of Clara Louise KelloKg, the
"once gifted songstress."
Tolstol'B new story Is called "Master and
Man." It describes with pathos and sim
plicity the way In which a commonplace,
money-loving man sacrifices his life In a
great storm to Bave that of his servant.
The American Jewess Is the title of a
new magazine hulling from Chicago. A
portrait and biography of Mrs. Solomon,
president of the National Council of Jew
ish Women, Is given, while Dr. Emll O.
Hlrsch pictures "The Modern Jewess."
Current Literature says of Iesat Nassar,
a new life of Christ: "This new life of
Jesus Is a wonderful volume, one of the
most important religious works that has
appeared for many years." It Is written
by Peter F., Anna F. and B. F. A. Mum
reoy, Russians, born In Jerusalem.
Lord Wolseley's book on Napoleon, which
will appear this spring, is confined
to the last disastrous years In the active
career of the Emperor. 1812-5. The author
claims that Napoleon failed In the mission
he set for himself and that he was beaten
at his own special game of war.
The May number of Donahoe's Maga
zine is to contain an article by Augustln
Daly on his methods of preparinga Shakes
pearean play for the stage. Rev. John
Talbot Smith, of New York, will contrib
ute for the same number of Donahoes an
article on Augustln Daly himself.
Copies of the llrst two-volume edition of
Bryce's "American Commonwealth" are
not only scarce, notwithstanding the fact
that It numbered thousands of volumes,
but are Increasing in value. A short timo
ago, at one of Bang's & Co.'s sales, it
fetched $11 a volume. The three-volume
edition has sold as high as $:S.50 for the
set. ,
G. P. Putnam's Sons announce for early
publication "Dr. Izard," a new romance
by Miss Anna Katharine Green, the au
thor of "The Leavenworth Case," "Marked
Personal," etc. This story Is described as
quite distinct In character from the au
thor's previous books. Of Miss Green's
several romances nearly 750,000 copies have
In all been sold.
Francois Coppee's drama, "Pour la
Couronne" ("For the Crown"), which has
scored such a hit at the Odeon In Paris, is
to be seen In. New York next autumn.
Francois Coppee will cross the Atlantic to
see the production. The play, which is tn
five acts, deals with military treason. A
son is driven, through a sense of his duty
to his country und his love for It, to kill
his father. The scene Is luld In the Balkan
mountains.
Librarian Spofford, of the Congressional
library, reports that during the year 1K4
62,7ti2 copyrights were entered, against 5S,
ft'.ii for HW3. and that 40,208 copyright pub
lications of all kinds were received. Of
the publications received, about 14,000 wero
books, 15,000 musical compositions, 10,000
periodicals and 5,000 photographs, while the
remainder were made up of dramatic com
positions, engravings, chromos, prints,
designs, maps and charts. There has been
a steady increase in the International copy
right. Max Simon Nordau, whose remarkable
work entitled "Degeneration" Is such a
savage attack upon all Europe (upon Wag
ner and Zola, Ibsen and Maeterlinck,
Tolstoi and Wilde), is of Jewish extraction ,
and was born at Budapest nearly forty
six years ago. He began In 18S0 to prac
tlve medicine In Paris, where he still re
tires. Of his many books only two, be
sides "Degeneration," have carried his
name beyond the German and Austrian
frontiers. One of them Is "Conventional
Lies of Society," suppressed tn Austria
and Russia ever since its first appear
ance, and "Paradoxes," its worthy com
panion. In "Degeneration," Dr. Nordau
has undertaken to prove. In a scientific
and elaborte argument, that a large per
centage of society, In consequence of cer
tain nervous conditions, has developed a
tasta for the Inferior in art and muslo,
and the depraved and even filthy In liter
ature, and that the artists, composers and
authors who furnish the supply are mor
ally and mentally degenerate.
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