The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-07-24
THE CHINESE IN AMERICA.
Their Infusibility with other Nations
aheir National Priae-Their Coming
Ingress into the Atlantic states.


qheir National Priae-Their Coming
Ineress into the Atlantic states.
Tho people Of the Atlantic States, unac
! qualnted with the Chinese population, regard
their immigration to this country in the same
light they would the importation of an equa
number Of the negro race from Africa. But
the Chinaman and the negro are buman be-
ings OF a very unlike Character and nature
The difference between the two races is as the
difference between an intensely ignorant'bu
docile child. plastic and plant as olay in the
hands of the potter-and grown man, sharI
but very narros-minded. opinionated anil fi1ec
in character. The negro, when brought to this
country, is simple barbarian, with nothing tc
unlearn, and whose highest am Dillon ID to lml.
tate the superior race in words, acts and man.
ners. The Chinese have a civilization and his'
tory OF their own; vanity which causes them
to look down vn all other races; habits ot
thought rendered permanent by being stamped
upon unoounted generations. San Fran
cisco letter to the Boston Journal thus de-
scribes the characteristics OF the coming race
To limited extent the Chinese become
quickly AmericanIzed; but their AmericaniZa-
ton is only superficial. They learn to buy and
sell, t. labor according to American modes,
lust as they discard the umbrella-sbaped hat,
wide trousers and thick paper shoes for the
felt hat pantaloons and boots; but they retain
all their essential habits and modes OF thought
just as they retain their cues. The Chnaman
tendi, hop-feld. digging q ditch, or friug
an engine in California is just as essentially q
Chinaman as bus brother on the other sid, OF
the Pacific, working with the same tools .s
his fathers worked with eighteen hundred
years ago.
rHKIR NATIONAL PRIDE.
The American and English missionaries,
who for thirty-nine years, at o cost Of six mil
hons of dollars, have with but trifing success
been laboring in China, know full well how in
tensely this people are welded to the customs
and habits Of their ancestry; how uuwaver1ug
their trust in the religious faith and ceremo-
nies which have come down to them from time
immemorlai.
The Chinese, as Q people, are 80 much like
Americans as to believe that their own civil.
cation, political economy. social usages and
religious creed are superior to all the world
beside, and that they are superior race. We
make the same claim for ourselves. In the
Chinsman's view, the difference between bus
civilization and ours is all in his favor. We
ference is ell in our favor. We judge China
and her civilization BY the masses Of her most
iliterate and degraded population nov on our
coast. They, with equal justice, judge Of us
and our civiliza tion by the associations OF our
forecastles, deadfalls aud railroad gangs.
There are few intelligent. weI-bred, hbe.
raj Cinnamon among Us, but the masses are
are some things which gives to the lowest
Chinsman certain conscious dignity which
claims respect. For example. he knows he
has q country. Time was when men were
proud to say, II am q Roman citizen" With
equal pride We face the world to say, 81 am an
American clt,zen." rhe Chlnaman with like
confidence claims to be subject Of the "sun
Of Heaven"
We are proud Of our extensive territory, vast
p1airies, mountains, lakes and rivers. In all
these things the Chinaman has right to boast
OF his country; for China 10 as large as the
United States, even stretched to it's utmost e1-
tent by our Fourth Of July orators. China.
man might ask you to open to the map OF
North America, and leaving British America
out Of count, to add together all the square
miles OF all other DIVISIONS OF this continent,
from the North Pol6Ro the Isthmus OF Panama,
and then, with an eIcusable pride Of national
glory, he could inform you that the domain OF
his empire is equal to all thai.
THEIR POPULATION ANp ANTIQUITY.
The Chinaman not only has great country,
but he belongs to great people. We Amerl-
cans are numerous people, and are rapidly
increasing. Some i've years ago, while IN the
northern part OF this State, among my earliest
acauaintances was young Canton merchant,
who had early come out as experimenting
agent for his countrvmep, who were mining in
Siskiyou and Del Norte Counties. he was
thoroughly educated in his own, and ANXIOUS
to becoms familiar with our language. One
day, while striving to impress him with pro-
per conception of the power and greatness OF
the American people, he suddenly brought me
down by inquirIng:
act population Of your great and honorable
country?"
At that time our census returns did not give
over So, 600, ,00t; but wishing to make an i'm
preston. I used qualifying word to help ms
over o few mlllions, and answered. About
10000, ,000." HIS face wore look OF mingled
pity and contempt, as he replied:
''Sir, the one province OF which am ma
tive numbers 40 600 coo. and our whole enpre
numbers 4U0, 600 000"
We may be be ter able to conceive the vast
ness OF this population by ad ing together the
population of North America, South America
aud Europe, and then remember that the
population of China Is equal to the whole sum.
But China is also the oldest OF nations. sue
has existed as mighty empire for thousands
OF years. Few changes have there been IN her
dynastles fewer \ ct IN her Customs aud civil
code. "Celestials," as 4 government aud as @
pc eople, feel the conscious dignity of and right
fully claim the respect due to permanent instl-
tutions aud hoary age. In view of these facts
we sometimes feel iii tie queer when asked by
o Chinanan acquainted with the history OF his
country, ''Whai Is tie age OF your great aud
thrifty nation ?" for after stretching as much
as we dare BIZ the use OF qualf ing woid5 We
arc obliged to answer, 'NOt quite one hut died
years."
THEIR CIVILIZATION STATIONARY.
We are apt to speak with contempt of Chinese
civil cation and certainly Vt is yer. far behind
our own; but it has not always been 30. Ten
centuries ago they were the most cIvilize peo-
pie on the globe. While our ancestors, igno-
rant of the art of printing were making all
their boo.s by the tedious and expensive pro-
cess OF manuscript writing, the Chinese we're
p.1ntibg books by the thousand. While our
ancestors went forth to ba tie. fighting hand
to haDd, ignorant of powder aDdIts uses, the
Chinese were making powder aud fire-crackers
every day. While our ancestors were yot gno
rant OF glass and Its uses, the Chinese drove
large business among themselves in the manu-
facture of articles Of glass. But The trouble
is-there she stands. just as she printed
books then, she prints books now; Just sucL
powder and just such glass az she made then.
lust such she makes now. NJ improvement.
No advance for maLy century.
What is the cause Of the intellectual s,agna-
ton of the patlonP Sume q ppIntIy answer:
"ihey are an inferior race aud lack the neces-
cary brain for the Development OF the highest
c,yujZatiOn" But we NAV well question