Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-24
A CHINESE EMPEROR's LIFE,
Curious Domestic Arrangements sfthe Royal
Family.

Curious Domestic Arrangements Of the Royal
Family.
The Hong Kong Daily Press gives the
following account of the education of the
sons OF the Chinese emperors, and of
some of the domestic arrangements of the
royal family
''The sons Of the Manchu emperors
thwang-tsz) undergo from their tender
est youth system OF the strictest educa-
ton. Rising at about o'clock IN the
morning, they first take their lesson In
Chinese literature, under the superirtend-
ence of the only tutor who has the title
of shih-fu or master The tutor rises
from his chair as soon as the imperial
pupils enter and receives from the latter
a curtesy eta cn'ien) which is then re-
turned in the same form. The tutor
takes the seat OF honor, and when the
lesson is learned the pupil brings up his
book, deposits 1t before his teacher and
returns 10 his seat to repeat the
task by heart. If the lesson is not
learned the tutor requests a eunuch
in attendance to bring the ferule
(chling- PAM and makes a show of adj
ministering correction. But each imper1-
al pupil is accom- panied by eight fellow
students (pwan-tubl, kno IN in the Man.
chu language as ha-ha chu, who study in
the same books as their young master.
When it becomes necessary to admonish
the latter more seriously, the ha-ha-chu
are beaten with the ferule V cariously,
but when the imperial pupil acquits him
self well, they are, ON the other hand,
commended or rewarded.
A recalcitrant and obstinate prince is
as last resort, actually himself logged,
though probably only nominally by the
teacher,Ior taken before the emperor who
directs eunuch to pinch his cheeks (ch'
III pa jou). The late emperor T'ung chin
was frequently tweaked in this way by
order OF the expresses. The Chinese les
son occupies two hours; after this comes
the Manchu and Mongol lessons in COM
position, given by the teachers who en-
joy the less honorable title of se-fu, and
who are obliged to meet their pupils ar
the door and make the first obeisance.
Then come lessons in various spoken Ian
guages, Manchu, Mongol, T'angat and in
local Chinese dialects After these come
courses of instruction in foot and horse
archery ma-pu-chiep), athletics, fencing,
putting thu stone, &c, (kung- tau-shin),
under the guidance of class of instruct
ors 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 inter-
walls their meals are weighed out for
them, and on no account arc they allow
ed to indulge in the pleasures of the ia
bic. At the age of fifteen they must mar
ry. The emperor sleeps with eight hand
maids (ch' ang-tsaD sitting upon his bed,
and sixteen thers(ta-ying) underneath
the bed, all of them girls from the i'm
perial household (nei-wu-fu). Their
function is to keep watch over his maj
esty, and they are not allowed to sneeze,
cough, spit or utter any sound. The
movements of the emperor on awaking
in the morning are signalized by a clap
ping OF hands on the part of the eunuch
on guard. Once year-New Years day
the emperor and empress preside at a
grand banquet, the empress sitting on
the emperor's left hand. This s-the
only occasion during the year on which
emperor can see his wives together and
compare their respective merits. The
empress presents articles of food Ike
shih) to the eunuchs, who receive it from
her majesty on their knees, and the en-
peror performs the same politeness to the
women. The emperor is spoken OF and
to as hwangchang -'majesty'- all but
members of the inner banners, who use
the term 'chu-tsz '-'dominus.' The en-
peror, empress and Goncubines are all
called by the eunuchs 'fo-ye,' or 'chu- tsz,'
/. e., 'Buddha,' or 'dominus,' and the I'M
perial princes 'ye'-the latter term equiv
alent to sire They are spoken of as
'ako.' The three inner gates of the i'm
perlal apartments are never entered even
by eunuchs, and of men only eunuchs are
allowed to pass the fifth gate, which is
watched by corps of imperial guards
(shl-wel), 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 department
wishes to purchase anything or to COM
municate with the outer world, she sends
handmade to sound the plate (tien), or
the clapper (pang-stz) with which the
barem 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 morning at 2, present them
selves at court at 3 A. M, and are then
received in audience. Their meals are
served up gratis from the emperor's pan
try, and the whole day is spent at the
palace until P. NJ. on 'off days and till
6 P. NJ. on days when there is military
business to discuss. Thus the only time
they can call their own is from, say,
P. M. to Q A. NJ. If indisposed, of course,
they may obtain leave of absence, which
must frequently be great boon. The
chun-chi never return the calls of any
but the most distinguished provincial
officers, and even then this is done on the
way from the palace.