The hydraulic press., 1860-09-15
Pecu1ialr. customs n 'oSsr the Chinese.


Chirese in California, we'really know little
of thefrpeculiarities as apeople, and are as
tdnishedin the perusal of Such accounts of
their MANNERS and customs as the following
from Or. .Faylor's recently published volume
'cf"Five Years in China" The extract is
l,hmh sing as we'll as instructive. Says the
Doctor:
The Chinese are our ahtipodes, not only III
Typographical position, but they do SO many
things ih 4 manner directly the reverse of our
own modes, that a most amusing chapter
might be written on these points of differ
|'ence. The following are some of the partic-
riars: They Shave the hair from the head,
instead of THAT Oh the face, after they reach
full rhath6od The lather- british looks like
a TOOTH British, and they laher with warm
water only, without soap. They ret only
always wash and bathe in hot wafer, but
will also drink warm water in preference to
cold. They begin at the end of a. book to
read, and read from the top to the bottom,
beginning at the right hand instead Of across
the page and beginning at the left. Explain
atory notes are always at the top of the
page instead of at the bottom. The title Of
book is always at the outer margin instead
of at the top. The leaves are all doubled
and printed on one side, instead Of being
sfogte and printed on both
q'he papas in school study as loudly as
they CAN scream, instead of silently, and on
reciting stand with THE Back to the teacher
'ffhhsstsad of TO the face. They locate the seat
of inte4igeace in the stomach instead of in
the head. In salutatfot, they each shake
their own hands instead of others. With
them the magnetic needle is always said to
point to the south, and in naming the four
cardinal points they say east, south, west,
north. Instead ofsoutheast and northwest,
they always say easlsouth and westnorth.-
Mating is esed for mattresses, instead of on
foors and they use hard pilfo&sj sometimes
block of wood instead of a soft. Long
nails are ornamental; if three or four inches
they are of quite an aristocratic length.-
They put the given name, or the title by
Which you are called after the family harhe
INSTEAD of before it, So it won4d be Smith
Mr:, instead of Mr.. Smith. 1t is impolite to
take OF your hat in the house. They plast-
er and %hitewash buildings on the outside
oftener than on the inner Tt is a strong
mark offfal regard FER son to buS u cot
fin as a present to his father whifey'et living
On presenting it, he Says, ''nihy yo'n live fen
Thousand Years"
When nAah tU'a&FU+o1.aes a6fe, one ofthe first
articles of fhrhftFire he buys for him self is
his coffin 1t is often used AS bench or IL
BILE for years. When it becomes tenanted it
is frequently kept in the house for many
longer, instead of being taken out and bur-
led; and when thus taken out, it is often
placed on the surface of the grornd, instead
of beneath it. The inscription is always on
the end OF the coffin, instead of on the top !
They wear white for mourning, instead of3
black. At funerals, women must weep, even
if they are not grieved; men must not il they
are. More lanterns are carried at the time
of the full moon than at any other. They
sell wool and fluids by weight instead of by
measure. Alta dinner the dessert is always
eaten first. The seat of honor is on the left
hand, instead of at the right They eat with
two sticks, both in one hand, instead of with
"a knife and fork, one in each. Their boots
and shoes are higher at the toes than at the
heels: aid are mostly made of cloth instead
of feather. They use whitening instead of
backing. In laying floors, they lay the plank
with the smooth surface down on the timb-
ers, while the upper is left rough AMI un-
planed.
In drinking tea, the saucer is placed on
the top of the cup, instead of at the bottom.
They kill themselves to be revenged of an
enemy. Men wear gowns, petticoats, beads,
embroidery and garters, and women wear
pantaloons, mot, however, ''ke pantaioons.")
They always mount a horse on the wrong
side, and women ride as the men. Military
officers carry fans instead of pistols. The
plume is on the back of the cap and hangs
down, instead of being on the front and
standing up. In battle they wait for ship
to sail ln line with the cannon, on fortif-
cation, instead of moving the gun and di-
Fecttng it TO the position of the ship. In the
dress of men, the drawers are large and
loose at the bottom, and have no strings,
while the pants are tight as possible, and are
tied around the ankles like drawers. In
other words, night be said, they wear their
trowsers outside of their pan,alocns.
Among US, young men and women choose
for themselves and do their own courting,
when they become grown (and sometimes
tsfprel; in China this is all done for them by
their parents while they are infants. With
US, ladies have the preference; with them,
gentlemen. We educate and honor our
wives, sisters and daughters, and bring them
forward in society; they degrade theirs, keep
them in ignorance and out of sight. Women
have their feet bound-their waists, never.
The circumference of their dress is greatest
at the waist and least at the ankles. They
wear their breastpins on the forehead The
young lady goes to the residence of her be-
trothed to be married, and she walls and
weeps along the whole way to the wedding
They always have feasting and music at
their funerals. Green plums are preferred to
ripe ones. They abominate milk: butter and
cheese, but relish castor oil; ;shails, and tiianJ
ther atticles that are to us horribly offen-
sive. They shave off nearly the whole of
the eyebrows; leaving mere pencil of hair,
while that 5h the Opposite side of the head
is allowed to grow till it reaches the ground.
Although men do not exactly seton the eggs,
they yet do iiiost Of the Matching, thus as
suming the prerogatiye of the hens, aid de-
priving them of that pleastte and privilege.
A Union politician lately asked one of our
voting t1eu if he thought the people would