Women in China.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 81

Women in China.

“Women as missionaries,” writes Lady Florence Cecil in an interesting article in the Girl’s Own Paper and Women’s

' ttreir ran ours m umw; re is wan rras part of mission .work that I propose to deal. To begin with, in China as in : other Eastern countries, it is imperatively ; necessary, if women are to be reached, to j reach them by women. Though not absolutely secluded as in Indian zenanas, I a Chinese woman is practically uimpj proachab’e to men who are not near rela- | tions; she does not, it is true, turn her i back and avert her face when a stranger ; appears, as a Korean woman does, neither ; does she-veil her face, as a Mahommedan : woman would do; but nevertheless she is I kept apart from intercourse with men, and to listen freely to male teachers, though far more possible in these latter days of emancipation than it ever was before, is still a. difficulty and an impropriety. A Chinaman’s best friend never thinks of asking - after his wife or i daughters; they do not appear if he 1 entertains guests ; the higher class women | are seldom seen driving out, much less < walking about the streets. A missionary j of many year's experience- told me of a I breach of etiquette he once made in bowing to a. lady whose husband lie knew | intimately; she hurried by blushing | deeply and returning no sign of recogni--1 tion to so unmannerly a salutation; he ■ never attempted such a thing again, hence- ! forth ignoring any Chinees lady he might ! happen to meet.” I “ Chinese girls have much application, and if they intend to learn anything

they will persevere till they succeed —nor are they unique in this characteristic: surely it is an attribute of our own maidens also, that capacity for taking pains, which ranks next to genius on the ladder of success. I noticed this quality particularly in their music; the Chinese are not considered a musical race—perhaps their idea of music is eo alien to pure that we are not good judges of their capacity as a rule; but under Clever foreign teachers they attain a high level of musical proficiency; I heard girls playing remarkably well both on the piano and on the violin, and in two or three schools where obviously the foreign teacher had' a special faculty for imparting her own musical enthusiasm, large classes of girls sang sacred chorales and compositions, of considerable difficulty with both fervour and accuracy, producing full round notes of which I had deemed a Chinese throat incapable, and keeping excellent time and tune. : “ To find Chinese girls clever with needlework is less surprising; we have always known the peculiar aptitude of the Chinese for embroidery; their imitative powers are so great that they are generally able to reproduce any sort of fancy work they may he given : ’ the failure is much more likely to- be in questions of colour than, in dexterity. Native embroideries are often spoilt by terribly crude combinations of hues, but when well directed and with tasteful designs before them they achieve marvellous results. In many of the convent schools, the lace-making and fine drawn-linen, work is, wonderfully beautiful. The same faculty makes the Chinese good draughtsmen.” Footbind'ing.— Discussing the question whether footbinding is increasing among Chinese women, Lady Cecil says: “‘Ah! those small feet,’ I hear you exclaim. ‘ Where is the advance in civilisation and this boasted awakening of China, while this torture of women and girls goes on, while millions still suffe’' for a- mere fashion?’ Indeed, it is a difficult question.. No doubt the Chinese are influenced in this piece of conservatism partly by the re-

Lmnese cllstomana uuro one ludiionus, t)ieir conquerors and rulers, never have bound their women’s feet and disapprove of the custom ; partly by the fact that Chinese men do really admire women with small feet, that a. girl with large feet may be rejected as a wife, and that she may be twitted with having 'feet like her father.’ In fact, we must acknowledge that small feet are ‘the fashion,’ and recognise that fashion rules imperiously in the East as it does in the West, and remind ourselves that our English girls are as loath to disobey its dictates as are our Chinese sisters. At the same time, 1 think we may hope that the custom, will disappear in time. I saw a great difference in Shanghai on my second visit as compared with two years previously ; meet of the young girls had either unbound their feet, an heroic action, let me tell you, for they suffer terribly at first when they leave off the bandages—or had never had them bound. Much of this may he attributed to the influence of Christian nchools, where the practice of footbinding is greatly discouraged, and much to the Anti-Footbinding League* organised by Mrs Archibald Little."’