Centre Hall reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1868-1871, 1871-10-06
"FlxIngn the Hair In ChIna.

submitted 10 the operation IN Pekin
as an experiment, and have TO this day u
lively recollection OF the performance.
Stretched az full length on a bamboo
seat or easy chair l was pummelled all
over the body, but more particularly ON
the chest, legs aud arms by stout,
brawny attendant with his partially
closed fists, after the style once SO popu-
lar at the " Hanmam," till l was fam 10
cry Poc1rL Sometimes the "douche'
is administered, but only rarely. The
BARRIERS outfit is simple, consisting of a
good razor, which costs about three
pence, u strop which usually is nothing
more than a strip OF stoutish calico cloth
costing a penny more. The chief items
OF expense in this elaborate "kit" are
the accessories. The metal basin and
the bamboo pail underneath, and the
pole surmounting all. which serves as
the emblem Of his craft, are, however.
scarcely more expensive than the razor
and strup, SO that on the whole it does
not cost very much to furnish barber
shop in China. The tariff of charges of
those engaged in this branch of industry
is correspondingly low. Three " cash,
equal 10 about half farthing of British
money is the sum ordinarily asked for
simply shaving the head. III the queue
is plated and interviewer with fresh silk
the scale of charge correspondingly
rises. Shaving and braiding the queue,
retailing a worn-out stump and shampoo
ing constitute all the arts required of
the barber. False moustaches and boards
of rude kind. such rs are worn by
actors in the public shows, are not made
by his hands, and of making perukes
and wigs, so much in vogue among the
civilized nations of Europe, he is alto
gether ignorant. In fact the Chinese
gentleman is far from being so particular
about his head as the English gentleman
is about his beard where the latter
shayes at all he usually shayes daily il
he dimes out he will often repeat the
operation during the twenty hours.
On the other hand, the majority Of even
the better classes in China shave bu.
twice a week, and the laboring classes
but once. In the case of mourning, the
law-or rather recognized custom, more
powerful than LAWS 10 permit the head
To go unshaven for months, the precise
time being regulated by the measure of
relationship 20 the deceased. But as
the thirteen months exemption from
shaving prescribed for the loss Of either
Of ones parents, il rigidly enforced,
would produce a crop of hair too exube-
rant for even Chinese society 20 endure,
where strict regard for etiquette forbids
the clean polish OF the razor-blade, other
cxpedients are brought into requisition
20 keep the stumps Of the hair within
due bounds. Since the incoming Of the
Mantchou power, BARRIERS shops, primi-
tive and simple as they are now, must
have undergone q more marked change
than those we are accustomed TO see
nearer home, for the native Chinese, till
they received this badge of n foreign
yoke, did not allow either knife or scis-
sors 10 pass upon their head, but were
the long haired race" which the Tmping
insurgents are wishing 10 become. Pre-
vious To their subsection by the Tartars,
the fashion was TO bind the long hair in
a knot on the top of the head, and there
TO fasten il with a wooden or metal pin,
as is often represented in the old pictures
of the Ming dynasty. The art of hair
cutting as practised in the West is as yet
unknown 10 the Chinese barber II is
but rarely, therefore, that a foreigner
calls in the aid of native skill. Only.
indeed, when he assumes the garb of the
country and goes into the interior does
he find il necessary. This, indeed,
forms the coup de grdcs to the foreigners
metamorphosis The "tail' fastened on
to the back hair dcceives even the prac-
tised eye Of the native, and, as Mr.
Fortune has daily observed even the
dogs cease 10 notice him. Dark Blue.