The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-02-26

seriously the ha-ha-chu are beaten with
the ferule yicariously; 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
inally, 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
~ 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, Manchu, AIongol, T'angat
and in local Chinese dialects. After
these come courses of instruction in foot
and horse archery (na-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
lowed to indulge in the pleasures of the
table. At the age of 10 they must
marry. IN
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
movements of the Emperor after awak
ing in the morning are signaliZed by a
clapping of hands on the part of the
eunuch ON guard. Once a 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 chU-tszf = sdOminus. ;
The Emperor, Empress and concubines
are called by the eunuchs 'fo-ye,' or
chu-tsz,' i. e., Buddha,' or 'domi-
NUS and the Imperial Princes 'ye =
the latter term equivalent to sire.
They are spoken of as Z al1o.'1T- H7-t
"The three inner gates of the imperial
apartments are never entered even by
eunuchs, and, of men, only teunuchs are
allowed to pass the fifth gate, which Is
watched by corps of Imperial Guards
(shi-WeD who are authOfized 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 7eunuch 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
morning at 2, present themselves at
Court at a. m, and are then received
in audience. Their meals are served
up gratis from the Emperor's pantry,
and thewhole day is spent at the palace
until p. m. on off days, and until
p. m. on days when there is military
business to discuss. Thus the only time
they can call their own is from p. M.
to 2 a. m. If indisposed, of course they
obtain leave of absence, which must fire.
quently be a 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