The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-02-26
A Chinese Emperor's Life.

A Chinese Emperor's Life,
The Hong Kong Daily Press gives tb
iolloW1ng account of the education {
the sons of the Chinese Emperors. an
OF the domestic arrangements of tn
royal family. - III
1.-The sons of the Manchu Emperor
(hWang-tsz) undergo from their tender
est youth a system of the strictest edu
catlon. Rising at about O'Clock in tn
morning, they first take their lesson il
Chinese literature, under the superin
tendence of the only tutor who has tn,
title OF shih-fu or MASTER The into
rises from his chair as soon as the i'm
perlal pupils enter and receives from tn,
latter courtesy (ta-ch 'ten) which i
then returned in the same form. Tn,
tutor takes the seat of honor. and wher
the lesson is learned the pupil brings ur
MS oook, deposits it before his teacher
and returns to his seat to repeat the
task by heart. If the lesson is moi
learned, the tutor requests eunuch in
attendance to bring the ferule (ch'ing-
PAM and makes show of administer
ing correction.
But each imperial pupil is accom-
panied by eight fellow-students (pwan.
tub), known in the Manchu language as
ha-ha-chu, who study the same book as
their young master. When it becomes
necessary to admonish the latter more
seriously the ha-ha-chu are beaten with
the ferule vicariously; but when the i'm
perial pupil acquits himself well they
are, on the other hand, commended or
rewarded. A recalcitrant and obstinate
Prince is as the last resort actually him
self fiogged, though probably only NOM
lnally, by the teacher; or taken before
the Emperor, who directs a eunuch to
pinch his cheeks (ch'lh pa jou). The
late Emperor T'ung Chih was frequent
y tweaked in this way by order of the
Expresses. The Chinese lesson occu-
pies two hours; after this come the
Mancbu and Mongol lessons in compost
ton, given by the teachers who enjoy
the less honorable title of se-fu, and who
are obliged to meet their pupil at the
door and make the first obeisance.
Then come lessons in various spoken
languages, Manehu, Mongol, T'angat
and in local Chinese dialects. Alter
these come courses of instruction in foot
and horse archery (ma- -pu-chien), under
the guidance of class of instructors
called anita. The whole of the young
Princes day is taken up with mental
or physical exercises, and they retire to
rest at very early hour. At suitable
intervals their meals are weighed out to
them, and on no account are they al
lowed to indulge in the pleasures of the
table. At the age of Is they must
marry.
"The Emperor sleeps with eight
hand-maids (ch'ang-tsaD sitting upon
his bed, and sixteen others (ta-ying)
underneath the bed, all of them girls
from the imperial household (nei-wu-fy).
Their functions are to keep watch over
His Majesty, and they are not allowed
to cough, spit or utter any sound. The
of the Emperor after awak-
ing in the morning are signalized by
clapping of hands on the part of the
eunuch ON guard. Once year-on
New Years Day = the Emperor and
Empress preside at grand banquet,
the Empress sitting on the Emperor's
left hand. This is the only occasion
during the year on which the Emperor
can see his wives together and compare
their respective merits. The Empress
presents articles of food (k'e-shib) to
the eunuchs, who receive it from her
majesty on their knees, and the Emper-
or performs the same politeness to the
women. The Emperor is spoken of and
to as hwangchang-' Majesty by all
but members of the inner banners, who
use the term schu-tsz - sdominus.'
The Emperor, Empress and concubines
are called by the eunuchs 'fo-ye,' or
chu-tsz,' i. e., sBuddha,' or 'domi-
NUS and the imperial Princes 'ye'-
the latter term equivalent to sire.
They are spoken of as ako.'
ssThe three inner gates of the imperial
apartments are never entered even by
and, of men, only eunuchs are
allowed to pass the fifth gate, which is
watched by corps of Imperial Guards
(shi-wei), who are authorized to strike
the shins of even the highest officer who
may approach without giving the word.
If an inmate of the female apartments
wishes to purchase any thing or to COM
municate with the outer world, she must
send a handmade to sound the iron
plate (ten), or the clapper (bang tsz),
with which the harem is provided, on
which the head eunuch approaches to
inquire who is in want OF assistance.
Having learned who calls, he dispatches
the under eunuch specially attached to
this department., who addresses the
handmade and takes her orders. either
verbally or on a slip of paper. The
cabinet ministers (chun-chi) rise every
at 2, present themselves at
Court at 8 a. M, and are then received
in audience. Their meals are served
up gratis from the Emperor's pantry,
and the whole day is spent at the palace
until p. m. on soff days, and until 6
D. m. on days when there is military
business to discuss. Thus the only time
they can call their own is from p. m.
to 3 q. m. Ifindisposed, of course they
obtain leave of absence, which must fire.
ouently be great boon. The chun-chi
never returns the calls of any but the
most distinguished provincial officers,
and even then this is done on the way
f-o,,, tho aolaoo -