The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1880-12-04
THE CHINEsE ~QIEsTfON.


The ~inEeRtiye genius u tias ChiBsse
Is marvellous. The 20, because
they have bssB isolated fEOn tie World
and have had 40 Opportunity Of imiGS-
ton, 3 faculty which they possess 10 3
great degree. Chinese mzehineyEE
is ~eO1HteTpaTts In the machinery u
the enlightened world, and it is not in
frequently the case that inventions
which are Landed in the scientific world
as the pure products Of a high eiyiliz-
ton, were known land used by China
centuries before. On this subject, DIR.
Whitney says:
Nothing affords more faciIe proof Of
the common origin Of races, now re-
mote from each other, than does the
identity Of terms applied to the neces-
saries Of life, and the similarity Of the
rude implements by which the simple
operations Of industry are performed.
The former has shown the primal unity
OF Sanscrit and Zend, and traced to
its faTthest source the origin Of the
Aryan peoples; the latter shows that
the arts Of craftsmen had reached a
certain excellence before the European
parted company with the natives Of
India. But by neither OF these clues
a any connection be traced between
China and other lands. The language,
even in its simplest roots, has no anal
ogue; aud the implements Of industry
have characteristic forms which dem
onstrate their origin 10 he distinct
The anvil OF the Chinese smith is not
fiat like the anyils of other countries,
but convex on its face or working sur
face, and the bellows of a Chinese
forge, instead Of moving vertically, has
a horizontal stroke. The paper of the
Chinese is thin and weak, is printed on
n side only, but doubled to present n
folded edge Mt the rim OF the leaf, and
a printed surface on each side. The
chain-pump OF China has a square bar
rel, that of other lands is cylindric.
Brass is made elsewhere by melting to-
gether copper and zinc in a crucible; in
China by suspending thin sheets Of
copper, heated almost To melting, in the
yapor OF molten zinc. The German
silver OF Europe is made by combining
the materials in their metallic condi-
ton; its Chinese equivalent 10y mingling
the ores of the metals and reducing
them together 10 produce the alloy.
Spangles are made, not by cutting or
stamping from sheet metal, but by fiat
tening wire first bent into annular form.
Pewter vessels are not cast, but are
shaped by hammering upon a block.
The primitive mill used in many coun.
tries-in Normandy for crushing ap.
pies for cider, in South America for
pulyeriziDg ores, in our own country for
powdering scoria OF assaying pots, and
composed of q wheel travelling in 4
groove or channel, has, among western
nations, its wheel running continu.
ously in a circular track around n YER
tical axis; in China its wheel working
TO and fro In a semicircular track, and
around a horizontal center of move,
ment. Chinese lanterns are not madt
OF horn like those used. by the Romans
or OF perforated metal rs long since In
our own country, or Of glass, as i.
now universal, but are of varnished
paper stretched on bamboo frames
sometimes Of little cost to the multi
tude, sometimes Of great intrinsic
worth and blazoned with titles for til,
mandarins. The domestic industry o.
other lands has obtained the healtlfu
acid Of vinegar from the acetic fermen
tation of the sweet juices OF fruits; til,
Chinese by placing In water the ses
polypus found along the coast. FISH
culture, nov a matter of government
solicitude in our own and other coun
tries, is old in China; but the Chimes,
fish culturist puts the spawn in an egg
shell and places IL under Il sitting fowl
and after due delay breaks the shell
into water warmed by the sun. Thes'
are not triiles. They show that in tn,
earliest period of her existence, Chin,
drew nothing from other lands. Ii
what she required she originated all
she initiated nothing.