Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-02-19
The Chinese at Home.

The Chinese at Home.
TEE first objects of interest to a stran-
ger on entering the streets of Oh inese
city are the shops. Most of them consist
Of one dingy, dirty room, with the entire
front open to the street, and the small
stock of articles exposed for sale in show
cases upon the counter, or upon narrow
shelves arranged along one side. The
back part of the room is generally used
for the manufacture of the particular ar
ticles on sale, and for cooking and other
domestic operations.
These shops are provided with plenty
OF expert statesmen who know how to ask
foreigner three or four times as much as
an article is really worth, but are ready
to sell to a native at reasonable rates. If
L wish to buy, l offer the man half or
two thirds his asking price At first he
declines, but soon offers the article in
question for a sum little less than the
first, which is a sure indication that he
intends finally to come to my terms. [
refuse and politely bid him good-by, when
he seizes his abacus Ga light frame of
balls, strung on wires, used for reckoning
and with many professional fourishes
goes into a profound calculation as to the
original cost Of the article, and the legiti-
mate profit upon the same; at the close
Of which, if l remain Indifferent, he &C
cepts my offer with the SOrrOwful declara-
ton that | have bought it too cheap-in
fact, to do business in that way would
soon ruin him and all his relations 90
away elated with my sharp bargain. But
my wicked pride is doomed to a speedy
downfall, when the first foreign resident
L meet laughingly informs me | have
paid double its real value. The only
safety Is to make my purchases through
a native servant, who himself must have
a small percentage on the transaction by
way of "squeeze;" for a shop keeper
would prefer to keep BIS goods rather
than sell them to fOrei gner for the price
a native would pay.
The coin used in all trade among the
common people is the cash" a round
brass piece with a square hole in the CEN
ter for convenience in stringiDg them
together by hundreds, which is the com
mon method. The value Of the silver
dollar, in leash, - varies somewhat in diff
ferent markets At Shanghai we found
the dollar equivalent to 1880 cash" in
Foo Chow to 1140 "cash," and in Canton
to 100, thus averaging about - "cash"
to our common cent. Brokers' stalls.
for the exchange of silver into this cum
bersome coin, are seen every few yards
upon any business street, and almost
every passer-by has rope" of it slung
overhis shoulder, or perchance a coolie
following after with several thousand
suspended upon the ends Of his bamboo
pole.
The signs of the various places of bust
ness are great curiosity in their way
They are covered with large gilt charac-
tiers representing the name of the concern
and the commodities sold. These char.
acters are upon both sides of the board,
so that they can be read at some distance
by those passing in the street. They
never bear the name of the proprietor or
firm, but, instead, some felicitOus express
sion, such as perpetual Success 'sCe-
lestial Affluence," Heavenly Plenty or
Zone True Price, by which the estab
ishment is known, and which is used in
the preparation of all business documents
We turn now to sadder picture, but
one which cannot be justly omitted from
a truthful report of Chinese life.
Chinese justice is an arbitrary affair;
and if a suit is to be prosecuted success
fully in a native court the claimant must
be prepared to administer a iudiciOus
bride to every officer and hanger-on from
the mandarin down Ito the lowest yamun
runner. The poor wretch who comes
with no gift in his hand must expect to
suffer summary punishment; for to main
tain the responsibility of the court there
must necessarily be some victims; and
who so fit to furnish proper example to
all evil doors as the penniless. friendless
wight who cannot hope to be of any high
er benefit to society? : AT
any rate, innocent or otherwise, such
examples are not wanting any day in the
more frequented parts of a Chinese CITY.
The most common form of punishment is
for petty theft and other minor offeDses.
and consists of a square collar. called the
cangue, made OF two or three tbicknesses
of heavy boards with hole in the center
for locking it upon the neck of the cuIprit.
This collar IS usually three or four feet
across, which efectually prevents the
wearer from reaching his mouth with his
fingers, and, as no provisioh is made for
sustenance by the court, he must depend
entirely upon his friends for food. IF he
has no friends to feed him during the one
or two months he is condemned to wear
this heavy collar, he must starye. for
Chinese charity like Chinese Justice sell
dom wastes its favors upon those who
have the truest claims.
Beheading is the common method of
executing those who have been adiudged
worthy of death. In Han-How we met
in the narrow street a train of twenty con
demned murderers on their way to the
execution. Each was dressed in a suit of
red cotton cloth, mathematical of his