The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-05-07
Chinese Curiosities.

ct Cu1nece CuEloS1SleSs
The passage of Scripture which reads OF
the difficulty Of those who have riches en-
tering into the kingdom Of heaven, reads
in the Chinese version, g 1t is easier for q
csmel to 60 through the nose Of q needle,
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of heaven" The Chinese call the hole in
the needle the nose, instead of the eye.
Hence it was necessary to 60 render the
passage in Chinese in order to be under
stood
The Chinese have better teeth than we
have, but not so good eyes. There are
many more blind persons with them than
with us. The way they expose their eyes
to the glare Of the sun, generally wearing
no covering on their heads, probably tends
to produce this; and owing to their want
of cleanliness, diseases Of the skin are fear
fully common. and probably tend to the
same result.
There are but few deaf persons among
the Chinese Although, from all the infor-
nation ! have been able to obtain, it seems
the average Of human life is shorter with
them than with us.
The women are shorter in proportion to
the men than with us, and fashionable
Chinese woman is hardly able to walk
alone, on account Of the injury done to her
feet in infancy, by not allowing them to
grow. They are thus made cripples for life,
and are obliged to keep their feet bandaged
as long as they live. They double all the
forepart Of the foot, except the great toe,
under the other part So that the great
toe is nearly all of the foot that wears a
shoe.
All the Chinese have black eyes and
black hair, and they feel great contempt
for those who differ from themselves in
these respects.
Begging is very common, and is organ
izsd into q regular system, with king Of
beggas ut its head. The beggars thus or
ganized, pay part of their gains to the So
ciety and persons may be exempt from tbe
Fshn0yxnce d tHs profession BY payi6s 4
certain annual rent to the king Of the beg
gars. When a man of business has paid
bis annual tax, the organization is bound
10 keepbeggars away from him. He places
q sign over bis place of business to this
effect, and is henceforth secure. have
seen these signs in Chinese cities
am told also that thieves have a similar
organization, by which persons wishing to
be exempt from their incursions, pay a
stipulated sum to the king of thieves Then
II anything is stolen, the organization is
bound to restore it or its value When
was in Foocbow, thief dug through a
wall surrounding our missionary dwelling,
and stole some chickens, but was caught
BY the watcbman in getting out They
treated the poor fellow very roughly.
In China, the cheapest shoes, worn by the
Coolies. cost half cent pair. These are
made of straw, composing a sort of mat.
sandal, and tied ON the feet For chair
Coolies, who must be very rysure-foOted, these
shoes are very convenient A pair will not
last more than a day or two. have been
carried q large number Of miles by these
Coolies, and felt the need of their being
very sure-footed in some dangerous places.
There is no other way of getting about in
some parts of China, and the men that live
by this means are as much favored as the
traveller by the arrangements. Sometimes,
in making short walk, when the state of
the thermometer would admit Of it, have
been accosted by score of these men, With
their chairs, anxious for jop.
Boards are sawed by hand, as there are
no saw-mills in China.
Grain is ground in the same way, by
hand, or by a COW or donkey dragging
| round one stone on another.
All nails are hammered out by hand on
an anvil.
Coal, instead Of being brought on rail-
roads, il carried on camels' backs These
camels are driven in caravans the one ia
front being rode or led, and the others fol-
lowing in single file, by means of line
fastened to a ring in the nose Of each
camel, and attached to the one before him.
There are no railroads in China, NOR even
stage roads, ror yet a pair of springs in
any conveyance found among native China
men.
Chinese boats and junks are built with
eyes. The Cinnamon say, Boat NO have
eyes, no can see no can save" If boat
have no eyes, itcsnnot see, and cannot un-
derstand where to 20.
Chinese houses have no glass in the win
dows nor wooden floors. And in the north
of China, whore they are most needed, they
have no chimneys. This is the case in
Pekin, the capital of the Celestial Empire.
Cinnamon name their boys Number one,
Number two, &c. The girls are not coun-
ted, but often strangled in infancy.
The money used in common affairs
among the Cinnamon Is reckoned in cash,
one cash being onetwelfth part of cent.
This cash is little brass coin, with square
hole in the middle, SO that a hundred can
be strung together. A dollar of this coin
weighs about seven pounds and half.
Capital punishment among the Chinese
is terrible thing. A common method il
by beheading. The criminal stOoPs dowr
with bis head leaned forward, and the exc
cutioner chops it off. Another method il
cruci6xiou, and another more terrible II
starving to death.
Chinese coffins are made Of plank siz
inches thick and immensely heavy. In tht
North, they place these collins on the top o
the ground, and raise mounds over then
like haystacks. In the South, the grave Il
made to resemble monstrous armed chair
sometimes as large rs seventy feet one way