QUEER CUSTOMS OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10042, 9 January 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

QUEER CUSTOMS OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE.

One who has had a lifelong personal connection with China must needs be well qualified to reveal to tho curious outsider the secrets of that extraordinary . land. Such a one wo have in Mr J. 1?. Chitty, audi tho benefit of his knowledge ne gives us in "Things Seen, in China," just issued By Messrs cSeeley and Co., Ltd. Many interesting things has Mr Chitty to tell us in his little book, l'artieulars ol tho Chinese family life arc noteworthy. Men marry young, we are told, and with tho exception of priests, hermits, and a lew eccentrics,. bachelors are unknown, 'l'his is due to the peculiar religious notions <jf the v-nineso which embrace ancestor worship.- A man must- have descendants to worship his memory when lie is dead. The Chinese wife is a slave, being under the command, not- only of her husband, but of her mother-in-law, who sometimes beats the new inmate oi the home unmercifully. Her position is improved, however, at the advent i a son. When there a.c no children it U uistomary to aclo|>i. one in order thiit t'ie family line may not die out. Divorce is! grant'ei. m China for various reason.;, r.no oeing "over talkativeness.'' Loquacity i.'i .iio part oE females is not encouraged ; n China. "Man and wife do nut eat together. Her clothes must in no wise hang on tho same hook as his, nor would she occupy his chair. Boys over seven cat separately from their little sisters, and when I lie numbers of the family are being totalled many fathers will omit the girls altogether from their reckoning. The woman of the upper class are secluded, of which arrangement foot-binding is at least ono cause. Cliinese women of other ranks waU about freely, and in South China take part in heavy manual labor. An 'amah' or woman servant will, however, in no case demean herself by wheeling tho perambulator, that being 'coolie pidgin,' and accordingly, in treaty ports, tho while babies aro wheeled by men, tlio nurse walking alongside. "Foot-binding, though on the decrease, dies hard, mainlv because it is the ono sign of comparative position which tho Chinese women recognise. No Manclm ever fol'mvs the horrible practice, so that when the Court conies into more close touch wj.li society at large it is vrobablo that the reform will move forward more speedily. Anything more pitiful than the wailing of the baby girl undergoing the torture o[ foot-repression it is impossible to imagine, and how any parents can bring themselves to dwell in the house with that perpetual moan—rising at times into heartrending screams—is beyond any Kuropean to conceive. The child suiters terribly for about eighteen months, and considerably for a much longer period. When finished'the foot resembles a small club, the toes turned under the, sole, and tho instep drawn completely up. Cliineso women, in argument with Europeans, are wont to point out that- a maimed foot affects no vital part of the feminine •anatomy, whereaes a compressed- waist may be productive of grievous injury extending beyond tho individual—a legitimate tu quoque. "The appearance of a chunk of raw ginger suspended over the main entrance announces a birth in the house. When tho event is imminent- the mother-in-law burns incense before the housenold god or gods—■ a small representation of the goddess of mercy or Buddha is the most usual, bub there may be others, and before the tablet of ancestors, and offers extempore intercessions for the safe delivery and the well-being of the infant. "The new-born babe is swaddled for a month in the clothes of elder members of the family, no other garments being provided till 'shaving day.' This dctestilile custom is supposed to ensure the descent of some, at least, of the nobler attributes of the seniors to the infant, and sonic parents also believe that it affords promise o£ long life, especially if the clothes belong to an old person. At tho age of one month the solemn shaving takes place, the child receives its 'iiii'lk' name, and is washed and attired in garments of its own, usually red. Fortune-tellers aro employed for the' selection of a lucky day, ■which; however, must never be later than ono month after birth. A feast is jgenerally given on this occasion if tho. bo' a-boy, and always .in the case of a-' firstborn son,- the chief dishes-being egga dyed red and ginger served with vinegar, the latter giving its name to tho feast, which is called a. ' ginger dinner.' Guests are bidden to this merry-making by means of a red egg and a verbal message. "The 'milk' name is given at tho ago of four weeks. A Chinaman in the courso of his life may have many other appellations, only his .family name persisting through all events and circumstances. Tho "school" name is given when education begins, and yet. another at marriage, wliile frequently to this is added a "degree" name, and always a posthumous style by which he may bo remembered after death. The surname or family name comes first in every case. These extraordinary complications appear entirely commonplace to a Chinaman, who considers our simple procedure in the matter of nomenclature hardly dignified. Especially is this true in professional matters. Few considerable tradesmen call themselves by their own names. Tney invent a- ' trade style,' which is set up over their shops to avoid the impropriety of thus using any of their own actual nanics. The trade style like the Emperor's ' timo style' may be a mere flourish of trumpets. Mr Li Wa Chang might, for example, adopt 'Eternal Moonshine' as his trade nanle. "The family life in China among tho lowest classes and among me river population is usually happy, and even in other ranks of society bright women whose natural affections show no signs of being blunted may be met-, but there can bo little gladness in many of these homo lives with their dreary round of uninteresting trivialities, their deadly sameness, and the absence of the lovo which plays the chief part in every woman's lifo whatever her color. The children, of course, afford unending joy iii their earlier years, but boys marry soon after they attain manhood 1 sixteen years and daughters usually about tho age of fourteen or fifteen. The advent of the eldest son's wife, however, advances the woman to that supreme office of authority—tho mother-in-law —when, until tho grandson is born, she holds a unique position, and' even afterwards is still the real mistress of the establishment." Mr Chitty speaks also of a horrible practice among tho poorer classes, whereby girl children aro murdered immediately after birth.

"The keynote of Chinese courtesy is a depreciation of self, not founded on humility,- but oil tlu* supposition that u visitor is set on good terms wi..i himself by an exaggeration of his importance relatively to that of the speaker. Personal questions, in accordance with general contrariness, are regarded ag the highest form of compliment. Here is a typical conversation — "What is your honorable age?' "I have been dragged up a fool so many years." "What is your illustrious patronymic? "My poverty-stricken family nanio is— —" "And what your noble and exalted, profession?" "My mean and contemptible calling is that of a " .... "How many honorable and distinguished sons have Jjou ?" "I have—insignificant children. Other questions sometimes are—"VVnat is your princely incomo?" "How much can your honorable magnificence make in one year?" "How much money did you pay for th« exquisite coat- "which adorns your illusr. trious person!" It need not be said that the foreign missionaries have made and are making a great improvement in China, and inducing many converts to embrace the true "ich. Sometimes, however, the Chinese are perplexed, and it is amusing to know that they divide the Christians into three classes—"largee wash/' "smallee wash) and "no wash." This, however, does nob refer to the laundry. Baptists and others, ■who practise total immersion are . the "largee wash," those "who follow the ordinary baptismal rites are the "smalleo wash," while those who have no baptismal office a/re the "no wash." There are many good qualities about the Chinese, and it 'is to be hoped that with the introduction of Christianity and moro ; advanced civilisation, they will rise to ' greater 'heights in time to come,