The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1869-04-07

The Chinese coffee-room which stood
near the theatre, was another imposition
on public credullty, for there is nothing
like it in China. The opium houses do
not bear the slightest resemblance to that
elegant building, but can only be compared
to the public houses Of the lowest order.
Opium is, as we know, the main article OF
expectation by which English commerce
balances its accounts of Importation
226,000,000 of francs being the amount
officially recognized during the year 1854,
not mentioning what was passed in contra
band. But it is only true to say that if
opium, taken in excess, is pernicious 10
health, yet its price Is so very exorbitant
that the consumption is very limited, and
that. after all, this substance is no more
injurious to the Chinese than absyuthe to
the European. Amongst those who use
it without discretion, some have learned
to counteract its unwholesome action by
means Of coffee-drinking, which was in
former times unknown to them.
From the surrounding grounds, we en-
tered the Palace of the Exposition, and in
the Chinese gallery We noticed the show
case where several volumes, by Chinese
authors, printed in China, on paper manu-
featured in China, were to be seen. That
country has preceded Europe in the inven-
tons of printing and photography, as well
as in many other discoveries. The typo
graphic processes differ from ours, because
they are adapted to different needs. In
Chinese, the writing is Geographic, not
alphabetic the vocabulary is not COM
posed of a small number of letters, serv-
ing to form and express all the words by
their ever-varying combinations, but repre-
sents each idea by distinctive sign. The
multiplicity of signs to be used excludes
the use of movable characters, and the
is executed by means of
wooden block, on which the characters,
written with ink on a piece of
paper, slightly moistened, are marked and
cut in relief. The printer spreads some
ink with brush on the parts relieved, and
presses thereon the sheet to be printed.
The pages of Chinese books are printed
on one side of the paper only, and are
folded in two, the blank part inside. In
Pekin, the printers of the Government
are said to use copper plate, on the same
principle as the wooden block. Some OF
the books seen at the Exposition were
printed as early as the l4th century, and
are somewhat expensive, but those pub
ished at the present time, Of all sizes,
rom 30 mo to folio, are sold very cheaply,
and we have been told that "a volumes,
u mo, could be bought for so cents.
The Geographic writing has not been
detrimental to the production of works of
! purely imaginative nature, for the Chi
lese novelists are, or at least have been,
,ery prolix. There were some good Chi
lese novels at the Exposition, translated
~ Mr.. Stanislas Julien, and also some fine |
BOOKS Of poetry, which are not unworthy
If perusal. But in relation to anything
belonging to the domain of science, requir-
ng exactness and observation, the igno- |
ance of the nation, including the Herati
themselves, is extreme. There exist, it
must be acknowledged, few elementary
reatises on Arithmetic, but the system of
written Enumeration is so complicated that
t eau not lead to any progress in Algebra,
Irigonometry, Geometry, or any branch of
cience where large numbers are to be
The would-be Chinese Merdti
ave no knowledge whatever of physics,
dentistry, medicine, or astronomy and
hey credit the most absurd errors, and
ccept the most extravagant fables for
explanations. The difficulties met with,
n account of their system of writing, may
e accounted for in regard to this sad in
ellectual condition. One can conceive
THAT loss of time and of preparatory
tudy is required to obtain even an I'M
erfect knowledge of the signs representa-
i've of thought, which are said to be no
ess than 44,000l Besides the difficulty
f interpreting them, they can easily be
TERED, and thus all progress in the diff
srent branches of science seems inter-
icted to the Chinese SO long as they will
OF adopt the use of an European language,
rs some merchants on the coast have
READY done,) or, at any rate, so long as
hey will not apply the alphabet and syl-
bic writing to the translatson of their
wn idiom.
Is it to the science of the ancient mis-
onaries who had gained the favor of the
,mperor Kung-hi, il the 18th century,
nat the Chinese are indebted for the book
medicine, adorned with large number
anatomical figures, drawn in a very
parse manner, it must be ADMITTEDLY a
opy of which was exposed at the exhibit
on? Nowadays, the art of healing does
OF constitute a special profession, nor
Oes it require any preparatory study.
nrhoIr nnr honor,.o q .L-.:.:. ~